


A Wizard's Path

by LordKraus



Series: Wilde Files [3]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, F/M, Magic, Nick Wilde is a Wizard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:56:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 69,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23418607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordKraus/pseuds/LordKraus
Summary: With shadows darkening and trouble arising on all fronts. Can Nick and Judy get to the bottom of their latest case as well as nurture their growing relationship?
Relationships: Judy Hopps & Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde
Series: Wilde Files [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1466503
Comments: 286
Kudos: 244





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the series always has and always will be Pandora’s fault. The meat and potatoes thought of this fic’s plot has come about from a conversation with Ubernoner. So this one is more his fault than hers, maybe. Thanks, my friends for your continued support it means the world to me.

To be honest with you, after the failure of our last case I didn’t think you'd be back. I’m not sure how much popular opinion has changed against Carrots and me, but we haven't been attacked on the street so I guess that's something. No major news agencies have approached us for a statement either. Then again, city hall was pretty quick to play it all off as an accident with no mammals involved. Small blessings I suppose.

Ed is still missing; the APB Judy put out on him has turned up nothing. It’s like he’s disappeared off the face of the planet. His bank account and something called social media is being monitored somehow. But that's outside of my knowledge base. When I ask Judy about it she starts spouting some computer mumbo jumbo that makes me want to go cross eyed. She probably does it to show me how she feels when I start to explain magic to her. 

It took about a month after Judy got off parking duty for Bogo to throw us a case. Actually I think he was out of options; a bunch of coin collections had started to go missing. There were exactly zero leads. None of the mammals present remembered anything. The cameras didn’t catch anything. Honestly, I started to think it was an inside job. But there were no work connections between any of the mammals involved. Trust me, Judy looked into it twice.

Nevertheless, a bank, museum, and a slew of private coin collections started to go missing. Not just any coins either; they were all Roaran Imperial Denars dated between 450 and 40 A.E. Everything else in the collections was left alone. But those coins were definitely going missing. We got desperate enough that Judy had me ask Toot-Toot, and the wee folk hadn't seen anything either. They were doing some pretty slick stuff to get past even the wee folk.

But then one of them got sloppy.

World building Notes:

S.E.- Savage Era

A.E.- Accord Era (Neo-lithic to Bronze Age, development of Agriculture and Civic Organization)

P.A.E./P.A.W.- Post Accord Era/Post Accord World.


	2. Chapter 1

# Chapter 1

I sat cross legged on the floor of our office, looking across the distance between my desk and Judy’s.  There's a lamp on Judy’s desk, one that we found in a second paw store. We have found that if the lamp is unplugged when I start to concentrate on it  the bulbs,  be they filament or LED, survive. Since the bulbs themselves are fairly cheap they make great training aids. 

I can see Judy  plugging the lamp in, but my concentration isn't really on the lamp its on me or more specifically my magic. She flips the switch and the bulb stays off, but it doesn't explode or burn out.  This is real progress, but I digress.

“ Ok Nick,  breathe in,  breathe out; relax.” Something about her voice always calms me a bit.

I take in a deep breath, hold it, then slowly let it out. My eyes, while  technically  on the bulb, are not really looking at it; my attention is turned internally. I have the feeling that if this had been taught to me in the beginning  it would  have been a lot easier than it is trying to learn it now. 

“ _ You must unlearn what you have learned…” _ I hear Master Yoda’s voice in my head. The wisdom in that statement at the moment is not lost on me as I take another breath and relax. 

The bulb across the room starts to flicker. 

Trust me when I say learning to suppress something that has been a vital part of who and what you are for almost 20 years is hard work. 

I take another deep breath and relax. The light across the way flickers, then stays on. I feel an odd disconnected feeling. I know my magic is there and all I have to do is reach out for it.  However,  I cannot help but feel this is what some mammals feel when they lose one of their senses. 

It’s taken me a long time to get to this point,  almost two months solid of trial and error, and if I'm being fully honest with myself it was mostly error. But regardless, the bulb stays lit. 

My eyes shift from the bulb to Judy. The bright smile on her face beams at me with pride. She moves  the lamp closer to me,  and still the lightbulb stays lit. 

My concentration finally breaks when the light bulb is just a few feet from me and the phone on Judy’s desk rings. “Sorry Slick, need to answer that.”

I nod as I close my eyes and attempt to recenter myself.

“ Special Investigations Office, Officer Hopps speaking.” 

I flex my paws against my knees and curl my toes slightly as I relax.

“ Oh hey Clawhauser, whats up?” The scratching of pen on paper can be heard. “Really? Another one?”

Great.

“ Ok we are on our way there now.” Plastic on plastic clacking can be heard as the phone is hung up.

I open my eyes  to see her make  one last note . “ There's been another one. Lemming Brothers Savings and Trust was hit this time.”

I slowly stand up and stretch, popping my back as I do so. “Did they at least do an inventory this morning?” 

“ According to Clawhauser they did an inventory of the vault this morning, but at noon three safety deposit boxes were found open and some things removed.”

“ Let me guess, Ancient Roaran Denars?” 

“ Got it in one; let's go.”

I grab my staff from where it leans against the wall behind my desk and follow her out the door. After the weather wall incident I at least want it in the cruiser with us, as I don't always want to rely on my intuition for when I may or may not need it. That old scout adage  about always  being prepared seems fitting. Not that I ever was a scout; just didn't have the time for it. But  there's wisdom there nonetheless. 

Late morning in the precinct building is relatively quiet as most of the officers are on their assigned duties or patrols.  That being the case, we make our way out of the building and into the motor pool relatively quietly and for once with a minimum of a snide remarks. 

Our cruiser has been repaired. Our first one that had been buried under rubble at the warehouse, not the one we took to the weather wall. The one that we took to the weather wall ended up being a complete loss  after a ram  landed on its roof. Thankfully the ram hadn’t been an officer,  or I more than likely would be sitting in a cell at  this very moment. 

In any case, we can see where the repairs  have been completed.  Instead of repainting it, they just beat the panels out with a hammer,  smoothed it over with a bit of bondo, and then  wrapped it in vinyl. My own mechanic had offered to do the same for my  Beetle, but it just didn't seem worth the cost to me. The city or maybe Chief Buffalo Butt had different ideas about what was  considered  acceptable repairs to city property. 

I climb up into the passenger seat and wedge my staff between the seat and the center console,  settling in for the drive across the district. 

I look over at Carrots. “You know this is probably a wild snipe hunt.” 

She shrugs. “We still have to investigate.”

“My prediction is that we'll get there, you'll ask questions, I'll look around, and we won't find anything. No one will see anything or remember anything; it's a snipe hunt plain as day.” 

“ We still have a duty to the city to help if we can. Is there anything that this could possibly be?” 

I shrug. “I can’t think of anything that would just want to steal gold coins…” My voice trails off. 

“ That sounds like you might have thought of something.”

“ Maybe, but I don't like it.”

“ Ok, what is it?”

“Most supernatural being have no use for coins, but there is one. Ok well maybe two, but elves don't really count because they've embraced the modern banking systems.”

“ So that leaves one?”

“ Yeah but…..”

“ But what?

“ Well if a dragon  wanted to steal coins it wouldn't be picky about what coins it stole; as long as it was gold and silver they would take it.”

Judy’s ears fell down her back.

“ Plus  there'd be a lot more property damage involved. I mean,  who's going to try to tell a 16 ton dragon no?” I shiver. “And if someone was foolish enough to try? Oooh boy.”

“ You're joking right?”

“ Nope,” I cheerfully answer. “If  they're in the city, well, that would make them insanely powerful as  they'd need to blend in as well.” I can see her nose twitching out of the corner of my eye. “Does the ZPD have rocket launchers?”

“ Uhhh no....”

“ Well don't be looking at me because if it's a dragon he can have the coins. I'm not crazy enough to suggest he give them back.” I stretch and prop my feet up on the dash. “But I still think it's an inside job. I mean, the coins being stolen are awfully specific, and what thief has enough time to only grab the 450 to 40 A.E gold Roaran Denars?”

“ But  there's nothing connecting any of this!” She  glances over at me. “ We've looked at every possible angle  and there is nothing there!”

I lean my head against the door, looking up at the passing skyline. “Well there is one angle that we haven't checked out.”

“ What's that?”

“ That this is a massive insurance scam. I mean, at this point who else knows where the coins are?”

She cocks her head to the side. I can see her out of the corner of my eye as she mulls that over. “Frighteningly  enough , that makes a twisted amount of sense. The insurance company would know where the coins are being stored. But what would they have to gain?”

“ Don’t ask me, I'm not an insurance company.”

“ I think it's worth looking into.” 

“ Really?” I try to keep the surprise out of my voice,  since it had just been an idle speculation.

Judy nods. “At this point we have nothing else to go on so we might as well look into it.”

I grin smugly. “ Maybe all those years as a PI have paid off.”

She shoots me a look as she parks the car.. “Or you’ve gotten insanely lucky; only time will tell. Come on let's go inside.”

I chuff. “And here I was just getting comfortable.” I take my feet down  and open the passenger side door. 

Walking into Lemming Brothers Savings and Trust reminds me of walking into Lucerio’s. Deep dark granite flooring. Dark  mahogany wood desks and counters highlighted by highly polished brass accents. Every mammal is wearing a suit of some sort, even  the  tellers. It all seems a bit much, but then again I'm obviously not their target clientele . The place reeks of " Look how we spend your money!" 

Only makes me even happier for suffering through setting up an account at the small branch of BunnyBurrow Credit Union that Judy uses, even if they did look at me initially like I was going to rob the place. 

We're approached by a tiger in a suit that must have cost more than Carrots and I make in six months combined. He eyes Judy with incredulity on his face and me with  outright disdain. I think the only reason I don’t get tossed out of the place is  the ZPD credentials hanging from my neck. 

“ Took you officers long enough; if this is how you respond to calls…”  he starts.

“ Your call was deemed non emergency, considering there was no robbery in progress. I’m Officer Judy Hopps  and this is my partner Nick Wilde, and you are?” 

“ Khan, Shere Khan; I am head of security for this branch,”  the tiger answers.

I give the tiger a bored but smug look. “I’m sure you like your martinis shaken not stirred  too .” 

Judy barely  surpresses a snort and elbows me in the ribs. While it smarts a bit, the fact that it wipes some of the arrogance off of the tiger's face makes it worth it.

Khan eyes narrow as looks at me  with contempt . “Hardly. Officers, if you would please step this way I will take you down to the vault.”

We follow the tiger to an elevator. 

“ When was the theft  discovered ?” 

“ About 40 minutes ago now; we did a guard change over for the vault at  noon, ” Khan explains as he presses the call button. “Our procedures state that no two guards  watch the vault for more than an hour at a time.”

“ And the vault opened at?” 

“ Eight o'clock on the dot.”

I study the tiger. Something feels off about him, like my gut is trying to tell me something. Either that or I’m hungry, but it's not lunch time yet. I take a subtle sniff of the air. I don’t smell anything out of place, no smell of ozone  or hell fire or brimstone. 

“ I see.  After we  examine the vault  we'll need to get a copy of the video surveillance cameras,” Judy explains.

“ Certainly  officers; please step right this way.”

We step into an elevator sized to fit much larger mammals but with controls at appropriate heights for a multitude of species. Three walls  look like  those seen in  the rest of the bank, a deep mahogany wood that feels warm and inviting. The doors on the  other  paw are made of mirrors. And I mean mirrors, not highly polished stainless steel but actual glass mirrors.

The LED lights above us flicker for a moment as the elevator starts its decent into the basement of the building. I catch the tiger's eyes  flicking between me and Judy for just an instant as it starts to descend. I keep my face neutral and bored looking as I lean against the back wall, my paws in my pockets.

The basement is much like the floor above it, though instead of deep granite floors there's a plush red velvet carpet. The heavy vault door stands open at the end of a long hall with a pair of desks flanking it. The desks are mammaled by a male cheetah and a female wolf dressed in bank security uniforms. The uniforms themselves are a caricature of police uniforms with security patches on one shoulder and what I can only assume is the bank logo on the other. They wear bullet proof vests that look a lot thinner than the one I wore to the warehouse and have "Security" embroidered on the back. I suppose if the idea is to make them look intimidating they might have succeeded. 

The two guards stand up as we approach the vault.  Inside the vault several safety deposit boxes stand open,  and  some of the contents of those boxes  are  strewn about. 

“ No one has entered  sisirr, ”  the female wolf reports.

“ Good to see you two can do your jobs after the fact.”

“ Are these the guards that  were on duty when the  theft was  discovered ?” Judy asks.

“ Indeed they are....”

Judy nods as she flips out her note book. “Did you two notice anything?”

“ No  ma'am, ”  the female wolf reports.

“ I had to go to the rest room and  when I  came back  I noticed the deposit boxes open,”  the male cheetah says.

“ I  never moved from my seat and  didn't hear or smell anything,”  the female wolf says, looking from Judy to myself. I notice neither of the two would look at the tiger.

I study them for a moment; something  still  doesn't feel right but I  can't quite put a paw pad on it. I eye the three security mammals; maybe it just comes down to the other two fearing for their jobs? 

“ Convenient,” Khan states flatly. 

“ Can we take a look inside the vault?  Then I need to look at and get a copy of the security systems.”

“ Certainly Officer Hopps, if you'll just sign you and...”  he eyes me almost suspiciously, “ … your partner in.” 

I ignore the rather large tiger as Judy  writes our names down onto the sheet and passes it back. 

“ Come on Nick,”  she says as she pushes her way into the vault. 

Entering the vault is rather strange, since I've always wanted to know what the inside of one was like. To be honest I'm more than mildly disappointed. There are no large pallets of cash, no stacks of gold bars, no horde of priceless paintings. It's nothing like the movies, just walls and rows of different sized lockers. Only a small pawfull of them are open and some of those have the contents of them strewn about.

“ Looks like the others.”  Judy kneels down beside some  scattered paperwork. “Have you done an inventory of  what's missing from the boxes?” 

“ We have, yes.”

I close my eyes as they have their conversation and open them as I activate my wizard sight. I honestly don't expect to see anything and I don't. But if Judy asks if I checked then I want to be able to honestly say that I have. Their conversation is just a murmur in the background as I look around for any traces of magic. 

I see nothing as I walk along the  aisles of lockboxes. Just clean floors and cold iron lockboxes. If anything in them is magical, I wouldn't be able to see it, as iron is the antithesis of magic. 

I round the corner and look toward Judy. She glows in my wizard sight; she has since the day I almost died. We haven’t soul gazed yet but I feel closer to that rabbit than I have  to  any mammal on the planet. She’s something. Something important. 

My attention is drawn from Judy to the tiger's right paw. The band on his second finger glows faintly of arcane power,  though not enough to be dangerous.  It might be an heirloom of some sort; maybe a distant relative  of his was once a wizard. 

“ Find anything Nick?” Judy’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts and I close  my eyes, shutting off my wizard sight. 

“Nope, seems clean.”

She nods. “It's like the others; only the 450 and 40 A.E coins are missing.”

I nod and smirk at her in a way that says I told ya so without having to say I told ya so.

“ Come on, I’ll get the security footage and you can check out the main floor.” 

The ride back up to the main floor passes rather quietly. I stand in the service area of the bank with my paws in my pockets. Mammals walk past me, for the most part pretending that I  don't exist. Others look at me suspiciously, as if I'm about to rob the place. 

Once again I activate my wizard sight. I hate doing it in a semi busy place like this, as I never know what exactly I will see. There could be  an elf or something even nastier that wouldn't take  too kindly to being outed. And considering my staff is currently in  the cruiser my options would be rather limited on how I  could deal with such a threat.

I keep my head and eyes down  in order to see anything that may have fallen onto the floor . I frown slightly as I scan slowly from side to side.  There's a tinge,  a crispness to the air  that's not  coming  from the building' s AC unit. It reminds me of the air just before a fall thunderstorm. 

I cock my head to the side as my eyes are drawn across the room to one of the fake plants. There is a sparkle much like that of an evening star that only gets brighter as I step closer. 

I hunch down  to look  at the plant  without my wizard sight for a moment and stare at one of the lower leaves.  The sparkle turns out to be light green scale just barely larger than the pad of my thumb. I swallow nervously;the number of  beings that would have a scale that radiates enough magic to have drawn me from across the room is very limited. None of which I like the thought of tangling with.

“ Ok, I got the…  What are you looking at?” Judy asks as she walks up behind me.

“ Got  a small evidence bag?” 

“ Sure here.” I hear the pop of a snap before she paws me a bag.

I  carefully shake the scale off of the leaf and into the open bag . 

“ What is it?” 

“ A scale.” I look at the scale in the bag and frown. “One I'm not sure I like the implication s of.”

“ Meaning?”

“ Remember what I said about dragons?”

“ Oh…”

The ride from the bank  to the apartment is almost as quiet as a tomb. I turn over the little plastic baggie in my paw repeatedly, as if  doing so would make the scale disappear. Perhaps it would be for the best if it did.

I mean demons? Sign me up. Vampires are kindling. Poltergeists? No problem. But a dragon? I think I would rather eat my own tail than attempt to go toe to toe with one. This could get bad, like  leveling parts of the city bad.

I flip the baggie over again looking at the small scale. It’s smaller than I would expect so maybe it's from a whelpling. But I'm not sure how  that's any better; a whelpling would more than likely still be backed by its heavyweight parents.

“ Nick?” Judy’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts. 

“ Hmmm?”

“ You're brooding.  What are you thinking?”

“ I’m hoping this scale  will disappear .”

“ You really think a dragon is involved?”

I glance over at her. “I really hope not.”

“ If it is do you know of anyone that might help?”

I frown as I think about it. “My grandfather maybe, but that  would require a trip out to Podunk.”

Judy sighs. “Anyone in the city?”

I frown,  thinking about it for a moment. “Maybe some elves.”

“ What about Toot- Toot ?” 

I shake my head as Judy pulls the cruiser up to our building. “Toot's brave but not stupid; he wouldn't tangle  with a dragon.” I look over at her as she puts the car in park. “I don’t think a dragon is involved directly though.” 

“ What makes you think that?”

“ There are too many coins left behind for that;  like I said before, if a dragon started to steal gold coins it would steal all of the coins not just a specific year range.”

Judy nods as she opens the driver side door. “Well let's see what Ben has to say about it.”

I nod,  getting out of the  cruiser and  tripping the door lock before shutting it behind me. I glance down at Judy as we walk together to our apartment in a comfortable silence. I smile and look back up. Our relationship has changed in the last few weeks and she has become someone  very  important to me. 

Upon entering the apartment we make our way over to the far back corner. 

“ You're sure you don't want to be added to the lock?” I ask as she pulls back the layered rugs to reveal the trap door that leads down to my lab.

“ The only time I go down there is when I'm with you,  so there wouldn't be much of a point, ”  she answers as I press my paw to the center of the carefully carved circle. The runes along the outer edge of the circle light up white before popping the trap door up slightly. 

“ That would have been handy growing up,” I look up at Judy who grins. “ What? Growing up with as many brothers and sisters  as  I have makes privacy an impossibility.” 

I just nod as I pull open the trap door. “I couldn’t even imagine.”

“ Not that my father would have allowed locks.” She shrugs before heading down the ladder. “With so many rabbits in one warren it was inevitable that some would try to sneak in their boyfriends or girlfriends.”

I follow her down the ladder. “You mean your parents couldn’t tell if there  were any rabbits that  weren't supposed to be there?”

“ You'd think so, but with so many in one place what was one or two more at the dinner table?” 

“ Makes sense I suppose…”

“ Aww, look at who’s come to visit me. My favorite fox and bunny couple,” Ben  says from his place on the shelf above my work bench. “I really must commend you Miss Hopps,  you've given Nick something to think about other than magic.”

Judy smirks. “What do you mean Ben?”

“ Well Miss Hopps, typically  he'd be down here almost every night working on something or another, and as of late he would rather spend time with you and Cotton.”

“ Really?” 

“ Ahem…” I interrupt. “Ben we could use some help identifying this,” I tell him as I drop the baggie on the workbench.

“ Spoil sport,”  Judy says,  shooting me a grin.

“ This is interesting.” Ben's eyes scan over the scale. “Where on earth did you get this?”

“ Lemming Brothers bank lobby.”

“ Well a whelpling that young has no right being there.” 

“ How old are we talking about here?” Judy asks.

“ Given its size,” Ben’s eyes flicker for a moment, “I would guess it's a first molting scale, so about  three months give or take. Would you flip it over please.”

I flip the baggie over and Ben’s eyes scan it once again.

“ Interesting…There are markings on the back  indicating that it was once part of something larger….”

Judy’s ears go ram rod straight. “Like a battery pack?”

“ Yes....and considering it's nearly drained of any magical power I would say whatever it powered would have been extremely complex.”

“ Like  getting a thief  in and out of a bank vault with no one noticing? Not even the cameras?” 

“ A scale that size could be used to do that but it wouldn't last very long , five minutes at the most, maybe less depending on the size of the mammal in question.”

“ So I guess  we're looking for a family of green dragons in the city then,” Judy  says as she  finishes making notes in her note book. “Any ideas Slick?”

“ I don’t think the dragons themselves would be involved in this,” Ben interjects.

Judy frowns deeply. “If one of their scales is involved they might know something…”

“Given the markings on the scale itself, I think you are looking for a talismancer.” 

“ A  talismancer ?”  our voices almost echo each other.

“ Yes a  talismancer is  someone that has just enough magic to be able to make magical tools but is unable to influence magic directly,” Ben informs us.

“ So that would explain the dragon scale…”  Judy's voice trails off. “Do you know of any  talismancers in the city?”

I shake my head. “No, but maybe Toot- Toot could find out....”

She huffs. “I should ask the questions this time.” 

I grin down at her. “Yeah but I'm the one  who has the working relationship with him.” 

“ Only because you bribe him with pizza.” I can’t help but grin at her sass as I pocket the scale and follow her toward the ladder. “We should ask about green  dragons as well; while they might not be directly involved they might know who took or  who  they gave the scales to.”

“ I find it best to keep the questions simple,” I tell her as I follow her up the ladder.

“ Yes well, we saw how well that worked the last time didn’t we?” I look up at her as she looks down at me from the top of the trap door. Her face is serious but not angry.

I push the trap door shut with a kick of my foot and start to roll the carpets back over it. “Maybe you should ask him then.” 

“ Can I?” 

I shrug. “If  he'll answer you.”

She grins at me slyly. “Oh I think he will.”


	3. Chapter 2

#  Chapter 2 

Leaning against the parapet a short while later, I watch as Judy places the small pizza box on top of another cardboard box. While I feel her idea of getting more flies with honey has merit, we are not dealing with a fly and fae have rules. However, I have to respect the fact that she's a tryer.

“ Ok, Slick,” Judy says as she sits down onto a box opposite of a  plate with a piece of pizza already on it. “I’m ready.”

“ You sure you don't want me to…”

“ Yes, I'm sure.” She grins at me. “You get more flies with honey.”

I shrug as she  gives me a look with her big purple eyes that makes it hard for me to say no. “Ok....” I take a moment  to gather my will before calling out, “ Toot-Toot …”  releasing the small amount of magical power  required to call the diminutive fae forth.

Crossing my arms we wait as the minutes tick past. “Do you think…”  she starts just  as we hear the excited buzzing of wings. He lands seconds later,  snatching up the slice of pizza and  stuffing as much of it into his mouth as possible, which was easily a third of the slice. 

“ Toot-Toot , I would…” Judy starts as suddenly a second third is gone. I’m honestly not even sure  he's tasting it. 

“ Ask you…”  After the last third disappears into his mouth  he lifts diminuitive trunk to release a loud trumpet before rocketing away once again.

Judy slowly turns her head and looks at me. I blink, still trying to get the image of an elephant unhinging its lower jaw to shovel pizza into his mouth out of my immediate memory. It was both an awesome and disturbing sight, one that I am in no rush to replicate. 

“ He didn’t even…”

“ I tried to tell you Fluff. The Wee Folk only respect power.” 

“ But…”

“ Need I remind you that you bunfu kicked a sheep off of a weather wall not that long ago?” I ask as I raise my eyebrow. “ I could never have done that.  Not saying  you're not capable,  it's just that this particular task requires a different skill set . ”

“ Will he come back?” 

“ Most likely, since he knows you have more pizza in that box,” I  reply . “But let's observe protocol in this case, shall we?”

“ By all means.” 

I reach into my left pocket and  pull out the piece of chalk I had placed there just for this reason. I draw a circle on the rooftop, just slightly larger than the paper plate Judy had placed the slice of pizza on. 

My ears perk up as I hear the tear of a small plastic baggie and look up to see her cutting the triangular tip off of one of the pieces of pizza still in the box. A grin slowly spreads across my face as she places it on the plate and hands it to me. 

I place the plate into the center of the circle. Then I use the claw tip of my right thumb to prick my right forefinger and press the drop of blood there to the chalk circle. The circle quickly turns from stark white to dark red as I push my will into it, shaping the spell. The air  snaps and hisses as my spell takes effect and a dome appears momentarily over the circle before disappearing. 

“ That’s different,” Judy comments.

“ He was rude even for one of the fae,” I answer dryly as I gather my will once again and stand up. “ Toot-Toot ,” I call out to my fae familiar. 

“ What will it do?” 

“ Nothing unpleasant;  it  just  acts as a one way shield,” I answer as we hear the familiar buzzing of his wings  that signify his quick approach . I can’t help the grin that  spreads across my face as he barrels into the shield, grabs the piece of pizza, and then bounces off of  said  shield onto his diminutive rump, hard. My grin goes smug at the sight of the grease stain sliding down the shield from where the pizza hit it. It takes almost every ounce of self control I have to keep from laughing at the fae’s surprised expression and the triangular piece of pizza stuck to his face. 

“ HEY, WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? ” Toot starts as he stands up, either not noticing or not caring  about  the piece of pizza firmly stuck between his eyes.

Judy on the other paw didn’t seem to  share my compulsion against laughing at Toot- Toot's predicament, as the sound of laughter causes my ears to perk up. 

“ Now Toots, what would Karma have to say if she could see you now?” I ask, unable to keep the mirth I feel from my voice as I look down at him. 

“ SHE WOULD TAKE DIVINE RETRIBUTION ON YOU FOR TRAPPING ME! I WOULD HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM … ”  Toot-Toot starts to shout at me, his trunk waving this way and that,  still not bothering to clear the pizza off of his face. 

“ Insignificant and wholly beneath her notice.” I look at the claws of my left paw and act like I’m bored as I pick something from underneath them. “Judy on the other paw has met Karma twice.”

I kneel down  and look sternly at  Toot-Toot . “Now tell me, what do you think she would do to one of the fae that has been so rude to one that does have her notice?” 

Toot-Toot gulps audibly. “But there was no circle, there was…” 

“ It's alright , we understand.” I cast a look over my shoulder at Judy. “Don't we Carrots?” 

“ We do.” She grins, evidently seeing my angle. “But perhaps a service could be rendered to, say, assuage any hurt feelings?” 

I motioned to the forgotten piece of pizza between his eyes and he takes the hint,  stuffing the pizza into his mouth. “Wat duf yu wan?” 

“ We need information on talismancers that are using green dragon scales as a power source,” Judy says as she steps behind me.

Toot- Toot's eyes dart between  us and I just nod. “We are still willing to give you a finder's fee,” I tell him.

“ Fee?”  he asks hopefully.

Judy motions to the cardboard pizza box. 

“ And you won’t tell Karma about…”

“ We'll forget all about it,” I reassure him as I stand back up and look down at Judy. “Won't we Carrots?” 

She puts her finger on her chin. “I  have no idea what you're talking about …”

“ Fine let me out!”  Toot-Toot exclaims, his wing s already buzzing. 

I snap my fingers, dissipating the spell, and  Toot-Toot shoots off like a rocket in a silvery white blur.

“ What was that about?” Judy asks as soon as  Toot-Toot is out of sight.

“ Which part?”

“ Threatening him with Karma?” She tilts her head to the side as I look down at her. “Would she even care?”

“ Probably not.”

“ Then why did you threaten him with that?”

“ Because all fae fear the bigger fish, and Karma?” I shrug. “She's one of the biggest that still  roams our world. Besides, what he did is considered rude; if he  chose to pursue it, and trust me he won't,  the fae courts would more than likely come down harder on him than us.” 

“ I see.  So if it was that serious an offense, why did he do it ?” 

“ Likely saw it as an easy way to get a free lunch.” I shrug and lean against the parpet once again. “How's your parents?”

“ They're good.”  She sits down on the smaller box. “I told  Mom I would try to call today after work.”

“ You don't sound overly excited.”

“ I’m not. I'm supposed to talk to  Dad tonight and well....”She sighs. “I told  Mom about you.”

“What did you tell them?” 

She smiles. “Mom is interested in meeting you. Dad, I'm not so sure about.”

“ Because of me?” 

“ Not fully no…” Judy looks away. “I’m not proud of my father. It took me a long time to understand him, but for now let's just say he was a stellar example of what not to be like.”

She's frowning, as if reliving some horrible memory. “Well if  it'll help I'll go get Cotton.” 

The sound of my voice must have pulled her from her thoughts, as she smiles and looks up at me. “That would, thanks. Just don't fill the classroom with bubbles again.”

I grin at her. “Bubbles? I know not of what you speak.”

“ Sure you don’t.” She grins. “You forget that Cotton already ratted you out, like the moment you two came through the door.” 

“ Yeah well I was hoping  you'd forgotten about that.”

The sound of her laughter makes me smile all the more and the look she gives me afterward is in stark contrast to the way  she'd looked just moments before. Maybe I'm a big sap but seeing her happy makes me happy. And whatever  she'd  been thinking about just  wasn't worth whatever she had been putting herself through. 

“ Thanks Nick.”

“ You're welcome; besides, can't have my girlfriend looking all moody.” 

“ Hey I told you no…”

“ Carrots, we are standing on the roof of the building we live in maybe an hour out of clocking out for the day. I think I can be forgiven.”

She thumps her paw against my chest. “Fine, just keep it to a minimum at the office. I’m not sure if I’m ready for the news about us to get out just yet.” 

“ I understand and I feel the same way.” I smile down at her as she wraps her arms around me tightly. Everytime we get close I find it rather amusing how someone that once annoyed me so badly as she did has become so important to me in such a relatively short time frame. We fall into a comfortable silence.  This is the other thing that has amazed me about our relationship: we can just be comfortable and content being together. We don’t have to fill every waking second we are together with conversation or activities. Even though if I'm honest some of my favorite memories of late are playing board games with her and Cotton.

The feeling of warmth and acceptance  that I've found with her always makes it rather hard to pull away, and I know for a fact she feels the same way. It's part of the reason  we've made a pact to keep PDA to a minimum during our duty day. Well, that and neither of us wants to be the subject of office gossip; and Karma help us if Clawhauser ever found out. But judging from the portly Cheetah’s looks I suspect he’s onto us.

I look down at her with her face pressed into my upper chest. Her eyes are closed and I smooth back her long sensitive ears with my paw. The chur sound she makes as my paw caresses her ears is almost cute. I  made the mistake of telling her that exactly once. The look that  she'd given me let me know that I do not have a c-word pass yet. Yet at the same time I didn’t get pounded into the middle of next week.  Perhaps it was just that she hadn't expected it, but I haven't pushed my luck with it either.

I’m pulled from my thoughts as the familiar buzz of Toot- Toot's wings sound s . The sun hasn’t moved very far so maybe only fifteen minutes have passed. Judy and I look at each other with surprise on our faces. 

“ He’s back already?”  she asks. 

I nod. “Either it was easy information to find or there was no information to be had.” 

Toot-Toot lands in front of us and looks between us. “There are no green dragons in the city,”  he says bluntly. 

I can feel Judy tense slightly beside me as I study the diminuitive sprite.

“ And  talismancers ?”

“ Twenty two.” Judy groans quietly.

Toot-Toot eyes the pizza box, then looks from me to Judy and back again. “I have a name; he might know something or he might eat you.” 

Judy and I look to each other then back to Toot slowly. “It better be a good name if you want this pizza,”  she says, placing her paw on top of the box lid. 

“ Kaddreirth.”

I tense; the name sends an unbidden shiver up my spine, almost as if I should know it. 

“ Well?” Judy asks me as Toot's wings flutter in irritation. 

I nod. “Do you know where we can find him?” 

Toot nods. “But it's gonna cost you.”

I mull it over for a moment. “One pizza a week for the next month.” 

“ Deal!” Toot points up and  to our right  towards the top floor of the tallest building in  the  city. “He lives up there.”

I stare at the building Toot points to and weigh my options before deciding on a course of action.  Who am I kidding?  There's really only one thing for me to do. I take a deep breath to steel myself against whatever I might see and  open  my third eye. 

Most of the world is flat and lifeless; buildings are not  living things and very few if any are warded the same way  our building is. As such they color themselves blue in my wizard sight with nothing to see of note. But the building that  Toot-Toot pointed out to us? The entire upper floors of that building glow white hot with various streamers of wards running down it, marking it as home to something. And if I judge the wards right from this distance,  that something is very powerful. 

“ Kaddreirth,” I mumble to myself than anything as I close my wizard sight. 

“ Does that name mean something to you?” 

Having been submerged so deeply in thought, the sudden question startles me a bit. But with it comes the faint scent of cherries, as well as the memories of being alone, cold, and under a bridge for three days. 

“ It damn well should!”  came the  angry voice of Toot. “Now am I going to get my fee or what?” 

I nod at Judy and look back up at the building once again. Maybe it's my imagination, but it feels like something is looking back at me.

“ Help yourself,” Judy tells the tiny elephant. No sooner  had the words left her muzzle than the fluttering of wings and moans of pleasure could be heard from behind me. “What does he mean Nick?”

I look back down at her. “Remember the bedtime story I told about Karma?”

“ Yeah what about it?”

“ Kaddreirth is the name of the dragon that taught Karma.”

“ Oh.  But that had to have been thousands of years ago right? Couldn't possibly be the same dragon, could it?” 

I just shrug. “No one knows how long a dragon lives.”

Judy looks from me, to the building, and back again. “Think he'll speak to us?”

I swallow nervously. “Maybe.”

“ Well,”  she starts, pulling my attention away from the building, “ if he really is that old then he won't mind waiting another day to talk to us.”

I snort. “Yeah. Maybe.”

“ Why don't you go get Cotton? I'll call Clawhauser  to let him know  we're going off duty and then call my parents.”

“ Ya know, Cotton and I can stop at that Chinese place you like on our way home and get some food.”

“ Really?”

“ Yeah.” I shrug. “Depending on how your conversation goes maybe it's celebratory good food.” 

“ Maybe.” She looks away, doubtful. “Or at least I’ll have soul food to drown my sorrows into.” 

“ Hey, that doesn't sound like my overly optimistic rabbit; what's up?” 

“ It's just my dad; and no I'm still not ready to talk about  it . I just hope  Mom's right and he's changed; and that' s part of the reason I don't want to talk about it.”

“ Oh?” 

“ Well if he's changed and you meet him I don't want his past mistakes to color your perception of him.” She looks up at me and smiles. “ It wouldn’t be fair to hold his past against him like that.”

“ I trust you Fluff.” I smile down at her and shoot her a wink. “Besides, if he comes after me with a taser I'm pretty sure  it'll explode in his paw.”

“ God I hope  Mom has taken those away from him.”

I stare down at her blankly, not sure if  she's joking with me or if  she's serious.

She sighs and starts walking toward the fire escape. “Come on; and don't forget my General Tso Tofu.”

I smile as I follow her. “Of course I won't.”

Oh the things we will do for those we care about. It's not like picking up Cotton from HEC or picking up dinner is a huge inconvenience or anything. Far from it. I actually enjoy time with Cotton. And picking up dinner?  There's something satisfying about providing food for them.  I've taken a liking to some of her favorites as well. 

“ Mr. Nick, can I ask you a question?” Cotton asks after we leave the  Chinese restaurant, take out bags in paw.

“ Sure…” I look down at the little rabbit skipping along happily at my side. “What's on your mind?”

“ What does unnatural mean?” 

I glance down at her. “It means something that doesn't happen naturally.” I point to a passing car. “You could say a car is unnatural. Why do you ask?”

“ Jenny said that her mom said that it's unnatural that  Momma and I live with you.” She stops skipping and walks beside me, her ears a bit droopy.

I shrug. “Maybe, but let me ask you this Cotton:  Are you happy?”

“ I miss TV sometimes, but you tell better stories.” She looks up at me thoughtfully. “And Momma is happier.”

“ Is she?” I glance back down at her as she nods. “How can you tell?”

“ Uh-hu h , she smiles more.” She looks up at me. “And  Momma really likes you and I like you too Mr. Nick.”

“ I like you too Cotton.” 

I pause as we round the corner to the alleyway entrance  of the apartment. Cotton skips on  ahead, but I see Judy standing in the middle of the alleyway with her phone in her paws. Her ears are down her back but there is a smile on her muzzle. 

“ MOMMA!” Cotton calls as she notices her mother and  breaks into a run . 

Judy looks up at us and smiles. I can see a little bit of moisture at the corners of her eyes. She seems more relieved than anything,  with  perhaps even a bit of happiness thrown into the mix.  At least she doesn't seem angry, so her conversation with her parents must have gone well. 

I wait a respectful distance away as she finishes up her call. Well, a respectful distance for her phone not really Judy herself. The last thing I want to be responsible for is my girlfriend's phone exploding in her paws. I don’t have to wait long, since shortly after smiling at me her call ends and she holds down the power button on the phone before slipping it back into her pocket.

“ Good call?” I smile down at her as I approach.

“ It…” She hesitates for a moment. “Was overall a good call. Emotional but good.”

I nod as she opens the door for me and I carry the take out bags over to the food preparation area.

“ Nick?” I turn and toward her just as she wraps her arms around me. “Thank you.”

I smile down at her as I return the warm hug. “For? Don’t get me wrong, the food is going to be awesome…”

She thumps me in the chest with her paw. “Not for that. Well for that  too, but for pushing me to reconnect with my parents.”

“ You  would've done it yourself sooner or later,” I reply softly, holding her tight.

“ Maybe; my parents have always said I'm as stubborn as my mother.”

I crack a grin. “Lucky me.”

She thumps me on the chest again. “You better believe it!” She grins up at me as she pulls away. “ Come on, let's eat before our food gets  too cold.”

Dinner is delicious and from the sounds of appreciative rabbits eating they seem to enjoy it as well. The rest of the evening passes quietly.  Well, as quiet as playing Carrotland with Cotton can pass. Judy won, but fun is  still  had by all involved. All through it though I have one name floating in and out of my head like a bad jingle: Kaddreirth. 

If it's the same dragon that trained Karma all those millennia ago, then we' d best be on our toes. But I have no real way of knowing, or do I? If there is one being on the face of the planet that would know it would be Karma, but would she answer me if I called for her?”

“ Nick...” Judy’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Can I ask you a question?”

I jerk slightly and look up as she sits down beside me. “Sure Fluff.”

She smiles up at me briefly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your brooding.”

“ Only thinking about Kaddreirth.” I smile down at her. “What is it that you wanted to ask?”

“ Have you thought of something?” 

“ Maybe. But I'm pretty sure that's not what you wanted to ask about.” 

“ Would you like to meet my parents?” 

I blink in surprise at the suddenness of the question. I study her for a moment as she rubs her left thumb over her right knuckles. I can also tell she's fighting to keep her ears  upright as she glaces up at me nervously.

“ Look, you don't have to…”

“ Would I like the meet the mammals that raised you?” I interrupt, and look thoughtful for a moment. “Yes, yes I would. But that's a big step Carrots; are you sure?” 

“ Reasonably…” She looks to the fire.

“ Did you tell them about…”

“ That you can do magic?”  she asks, and shakes her head. “It's a little hard to explain over the phone, ya know?” 

I smile at her. “Welp, I guess  we'll have to play it by ear then.”

She nods. “It might be best to tell them about it when you can actually show them.”

“ Maybe” 

“ So...ummm, about Kaddreirth?” Her head tilts to the side as she looks up at me. “You figured out something?”

I smile slightly. “Not really, but  I have  thought of  someone we can ask.”

Judy frowns slightly, then her eyes go wide. “Will she even answer?” 

I shrug. “ No clue, but I will not use a circle to contain her.”

Judy nods. “But…”

“ She's a  goddess Carrots,  and not just any  goddess but one of balance and retribution.” I look down at her. “I’m many things, but suicidal isn’t one of them.”

“ So she might not even answer.” She looks back to the fire.

“ She might not.” I look back toward the fire. “But that's a risk I suppose.”

“ When are you going to try calling her?” 

I shrug and get comfortable on the couch. “In a bit, after Cotton is well asleep, but really she tends to come and go as she pleases.” 

“ That won't take long; she's well and truly exhausted.” She looks at me for a moment before lifting my left arm and sliding under it. She curls her legs up under herself and rests her head on my chest. “You know sometimes, like  now, I miss being able to look at my phone.”

“ Oh?” I look down at her  in surprise as my paw settles onto her hip. 

“ But in some ways I don’t. I feel more connected to you and Cotton.” She pauses for a moment. “I finally got  the insurance check for my townhouse.”

My ears flatten against my head a bit. “Oh?” 

She nods and a silence settles between us. “I was wondering though....” She looks up at me. I can feel the nervous tension building up in her. “If I could find a place, would you move in with us?” 

I blink as my heart thunders in my chest. Of all the things that I was expecting her to say that wasn't really one of them. Honestly a part of me expected her to say it's been fun Nick but I want to just go back to being friends. 

I must have taken a little longer  to answer  than she expected, as she adds. “You don't have to, it's just that…”

“ You'd like to have a bit of privacy?” I tilt my head to look down at her. 

She nods. “Yeah....”

I glance around my hovel. “I’d love to.”

She sighs and settles back against my chest. “That was easier than  I  expected.”

A grin slowly spreads across my face. “Would it help if I protested more?”

“ Maybe.”

I shimmy my shoulders side to side as I get even more comfortable on the couch. “ We'll have to figure out something to do with my lab though.”

“ Oh, I  hadn't thought about that but I'm sure we can find something.”

I nod as I stare into the fireplace. “It needs to have a fireplace.”

“ You know how rare those are these days?” 

I shrug. “But you have to admit that  it's been insanely useful.”

I look down at her again as the question  hangs in the semi silence of the room. The soft snap  and  crackle of  the  burning fire only  highlights the deep breathing of the rabbit against my side.

She always looks so relaxed when she sleeps. I sort of envy her as she almost always turns off like a light in the evening. But then again she has to fuel the upbeat positivity somehow. 

I pick my book up off of the end table and flip it open. I  read my book for maybe an hour  or more, and letting the rabbits well and truly slip  deeply into slumber.  My mind is a million miles away from the words on the page, however .

She wants me to move in with her. In a home, a real home, not a glorified hole in the ground but a home. I tilt my head once again and look at the sleeping bunny. My life has changed drastically in the last few months. From a PI  whose most profitable cases  were the most distasteful to a consultant position that pays more in a month than I typically made in six. I smile at the sleeping center of the swirling vortex of change in my life. 

Reaching into my pocket I pull out my ZPD issued pager and click the button on the side that makes the little LCD screen on the top light up. It reads 11:02 PM; glaring at the infernal device I tried to hex it out of existence. Mockingly the screen stays lit up and even has the audacity to change to 11:03 PM with all of the magic blue smoke still safely inside.

Knowing how early she likes to get up I gather Carrots up in my arms and walk over to the bed. Stepping up the short wooden step stool I gently lay her down,  standing back upright just long enough to pull my shirt off and toss it into my laundry hamper. 

“Heh…” I huff to myself as I slide into bed beside Judy. “She’s changed my life so much that I have a laundry hamper not a pile.” I wrap my right arm around her and close my eyes. Soon I'm lulled to sleep by the heavy breathing of a pair of sleeping bunnies. 


	4. Chapter 3

#  Chapter 3

My eyes flutter open and I stretch slightly, my paws instinctively flexing. There is a slight moan  as I feel Judy snuggle tighter against me. I sigh softly and smile, tilting my head and cracking open my right eye to look down at her. Her face is pressed into the fur of my chest and I can feel her soft paw draped over me. It is somewhat amazing to me how something so soft can also feel as hard as iron in a split second. 

It’s rare  for me to be awake before Judy  so I take  advantage of this opportunity to  observe the serenity of her sleeping face. I can’t help the smile that crosses my face at the faint sounds of Cotton's small snores as the rabbits sleep blissfully.

I close my eyes in an attempt to rejoin them in the land of dreams, but something feels off. Not bad mind you, not wrong just off. 

My eyes open again as I lift my head slightly and look around. My eyes don't quite make it over the lip of the drawer but I can see enough. My nose catches a far too familiar scent. 

“ Come, Nicholas.”

Well that explains my uneasiness. I slip out from under Judy’s arm and take a moment to cover her back up. I grab a shirt from the foot of the bed as I slip over the lip of drawer.

“ Coffee?” I ask as I make my way over to  the  food prep area  and grab the kettle. 

“ No thank you.” 

I nod as I quietly fill the kettle with water and put a couple scoops of instant coffee into my mug. I walk over and place the kettle onto the grate of the fire. I can feel Karma’s eyes on me as I walk over to the armchair and sit down. 

I look at the kettle for a moment before turning my attention back to the vixen lounging on the couch. “To what do I owe  this surprise visit  at such an ungodly hour?”

She smirks at me and raises an eyebrow. “Maybe I just wanted to see my favorite wizard.” 

I raise my eyebrow in response as we stare at each other. “ Perhaps , and I'm sure your sudden appearance has nothing to do with Judy and I planning to go see Kaddreirth this morning.”

“ You are?”  she asks, sounding a bit surprised. “That old wyrm is in town? I haven't seen him in some time but alas, no.  Actually,  I thought maybe you would be a tad more grateful for me saving your life.”

I look away toward the kettle as it slowly heats on the grate. “Thank you for that by the way.” 

“ For what again?”

“ For healing me.” I turn my attention back toward her, swallowing nervously.“And just what is the gift of my continued existence going to cost me?”

“ It's a gift now is it?”

I nod as my eyes track from her to the drawer where Judy and Cotton  are sleeping soundly. “Some would agree with that phrasing.”

Karma turns her head, even though I know she already knows where I'm looking. She smiles as she looks back toward me once again, her eyes full of mirth. 

“ I require a favor to be named at a later date.” She holds up a paw to stave off my protest. “It will be a small thing I assure you, but important to me. Your water is about to boil.”

I stand and snatch the kettle off of the grate before it starts to whistle. I mull over her request as I take the kettle back to the food prep area and pour some of the steaming water into my cup. I stir my coffee slowly. Giving a deity an open ended favor could be disastrous for me. 

I take a sip of my coffee as I walk back over to the sitting area and sit back down. “I’ll do nothing…”

“ Against those you care about.” Karma stares at me. “Nor would I ask you to. I assure you that it will be a simple thing.”

“ Fine. I, Nicholas Piberous Copperfield Wilde, owe you, Karma, Goddess of Balance, a favor to be named at a later date.”

Her eyes soften slightly as she looks at me. “Thank you.”

I nod at her as I take another sip of my coffee. “Is there anything else?” 

She tilts her head as she regards me. “There is; I am unable to find the body of the wolf you fought.”

I stare blankly at her as  a  frown slowly crosses my face.

“ He could be in a pocket dimension, but for the moment at least he is outside of my realm of influence.” She shrugs. “I advise caution if you ever see him again, Nicholas.”

I nod in agreement. Being cautious is an understatement. 

“ Enjoy the rest of your morning. A I will leave you with a word of advice:  Mind your manners with Kaddreirth.” She disappears in a flash of light. I take a sip of my coffee and look down at the mug in my paw, surprised; it now tastes much better than the instant coffee  I'd been drinking just a moment before.

Leaning back in the armchair, I look toward the fire as it wards off the chill of the room.  As I take another sip of my coffee, a thought  occurs to me.  _ I didn't even try calling her last night.  _ I frown at the thought and shrug it off. Karma has been  popping in and out of my life since my ability to tap into magic manifested. Why should this morning be any different?

The sudden ear jarring noise of Judy’s alarm clock pulls me from my thoughts and I take another sip of my coffee. Best to enjoy it while it's still hot and not let my brooding ruin a perfect good gift. 

“ Nick?” Judy asks, sleep evident with the grogginess of her voice. 

“ I’m up Fluff.” I smile as Judy’s head appears over the edge of the dresser drawer.

“ What…” She gets a puzzled look on her face for a moment. “Oh, she came?”

I nod as she slips over the top of the drawer. “Tell me about it on our way to work.” 

I stretch and take another sip of my coffee as I watch her go. 

Telling Chief Buffalo Butt that we were going to go have a heart to heart with a dragon went about as well as you’d think. That is  to say , not very well at all. Honestly, the guy needs to relax  a little; otherwise  he's going to die of a coronary or something. But I have made an interesting observation: Bogo has a vein on the left paw side of his neck that stands out and pulses when he gets angry. 

Judy on the other paw took learning that Kaddreirth is one and the same that taught Karma millenia ago much better. Where Bogo’s  vein throbbed Judy’s ears stood ram rod straight.  With an elephant sized rubber band they could have been used to make one hell of a slingshot, but I digress. 

The building we find ourselves in is gaudy in its opulence. The tower at 3rd and Maddison sits as near to the center of the city as possible and soars above the rest. Everything about the place screams power; it grates against my nerves. Maybe it's my  anxiety, but the butt of my staff  seems to clank against the highly polished flooring. 

“ Do you think he'll even see us?” Judy asks as the door shuts behind us. 

In the lobby we are greeted by a security desk occupied by a Siberian tiger. His fur is so white it  you'd think it was bleached if it wasn't for the thick darkly black stripes  that ran over his face and down his neck. He wears a dark suit and a light blue tie. I can make out just  the hint of a bulge of a concealed weapon under his right arm pit. 

I shrug as I finish my assessment of the security mammal. “I don't see why not.”

“ Officer Hopps and Mr Wilde, I presume?”  the security mammal greets us.

“ That's us,” Judy says as she steps forward. 

“ Excellent.  If you'll wait a moment  I've already paged  the Majordomo; she'll be down to meet  you shortly .”

I raise an eyebrow and tentatively look down at Fluff, who give s me what I can only assume is a mirror of my own blank stare. “New life goal Fluff: become so powerful that I can have someone on staff with the same title as a Hutt crime lord.” 

“ And just who would be dumb enough to fill that postition?” 

I grin. “I dunno Fluff, you interested?”

“ Hardly.” She punctuates the answer with a slight jab of her elbow to my stomach.

I open my mouth to retort but I'm interrupted by the clacking of hooves on the polished flooring. I look from Judy  to a female deer as she appears from somewhere deeper in the lobby. She' s wearing a purple power suit so dark that  it's almost black with a white button up shirt  underneath . The lines of the skirt accunate her curves  while still being tasteful. There is an uneasiness about her, a feeling of something being not quite right. 

“ Mr. Wilde, Officer Hopps,”  she greets us. “If you would follow me please; Kaddreirth will see you now.” She turns and walks back the way she came,  clearly expecting us to follow . 

Judy and I share a glace as we fall in behind her. “ We're expected then?” Judy asks.

“ You were expected yesterday. But it's no fault of your own; sprites are easily distracted by their rewards.” 

She leads us over to an elevator and slots in a key before the doors open. “Please step inside.”

We step inside and I lean nervously against the back wall. The front walls and the back side of the doors are actual mirrors. Judy reaches up and gives my paw a reassuring squeeze as the elevator starts to ascend at great speed. I look down at her for a moment and squeeze back. My gaze moves back toward the mirrors just in time to see the deer look away from us. 

Just as quickly as it began the elevator ride ends. The doors open up into what can only be described as another reception area. Complete with a rather bored looking receptionist.  If I didn't know better I would say  we'd just  stepped out into  the  outer office  of a law firm  instead of a dragon’s lair. 

“ Miss Fawnsworth,”  the receptionist greets our escort.

Miss Fawnsworth pauses beside the receptionist's desk and eyes us for a moment. “Cindy, I'm taking Mr. Wilde and Officer Hopps to meet with Kaddreirth.”

“ Yes  ma'am; Ill log them in.”

“ Officer Hopps, I must request that you relinquish your side arm and any electronic devices you may have on your person.” 

“ As a police officer I am authorized…” Judy starts. 

“ That's all well and good Officer Hopps, but you have two choices here:  Relinquish your weapons and personal electronic devices or wait out here for Mr. Wilde to conduct his business.” 

Looking down at Judy, I can see an almost imperceptible quiver of her ears. Her eyes have hardened as she considers her next course of action. 

“ Judy…”

“ Fine,”  she cuts me off as she unholsters and removes  the  tranq dart magazine from her side arm. She hands it,  along with her phone and ZPD issued pager, over to the receptionist. 

Looking between Judy and Miss Fawnsworth I weigh my options for a moment before handing over my staff and ZPD issued pager as well. 

“ I assure you that is not necessary Mr. Wilde.”

“ I know it's more for the safety of my partner. Kaddreirth must have some strong magic potential if  you're worried about an accidental discharge of her firearm. But as a show of  solidarity …” 

Judy pauses as her ears droop slightly. “Keep your staff Nick; sorry,  I'd kind of forgotten.”

I nod and take back my staff. “Don't worry Fluff, I got your back.” 

“Now, if you two are done with your moment, this way please,” Miss Fawnsworth says and turns to walk deeper into the offices.

We follow as we are  led deeper into the offices. Mammals of all shapes and sizes pause for a moment to regard us before going about whatever duties they are assigned. 

“ Just what does Kaddreirth have need for all this for?” Judy asks. 

Miss Fawnsworth’s right ear flicks slightly in irritation before she answers. “He has a great many interests and it takes a great number of mammals to keep  track of those interests.”

“ Such as?” 

“ Frankly Officer Hopps, it's none of your concern.”

This statement effectively cut off any further attempts at polite conversation between the three of us. Eventually the flooring has a sudden slant as we walk to a lower level and come before a pair of great doors. 

Calling them doors does them a major disservice. The pair of them easily span 70 to 80 feet across and maybe double of that high. They are made from thick oak timbers held together by massive wrought iron plates. Through the center of each door  are five massive gouges where something with claws easily longer than I am tall rent the door asunder. If it wasn't for a black metal plate one would be able to see though them  into the room beyond.

Miss Fawnsworth turns and looks at us for a moment. “A word of warning: don't touch anything.” With that she turns  to push the doors open . 

The doors swing inwardly with little effort on Miss Fawnsworth’s part. The squealing of disused henges and the thudding, chunking sound of chains moving over gears can be heard as well as felt in our hind paws. She stops pushing when there is a gap large enough for us to walk into. 

I look over the doors as we  pass between them  and swallow nervously. The doors themselves are easily as thick as Carrots is tall. My left paw grips my staff tighter as we enter the room beyond.

I whistle appreciatively, in an attempt to mask my nervousness. “Wow, I bet  you can't find these kind of doors at Den Depot.” I glance down at Judy with a smirk on my face.

I could see the start of a retort when Carrots' jaw all but  hits the floor. I turn my attention to the room we are walking into and am immediately blown away. We are on an exquisitely made wooden platform with a pair of chair s appropriately sized for Judy and I. The platform overlooks a sea of wealth. 

Gold  and  silver coins make up the base of it all. It carpets the cavernous room in a deities  only  know how thick blanket. Jewels and an assortment of weapons, armor, and other trinkets  are  seemingly thrown around the piles of gold, like sprinkles on a cupcake. The entire horde would give a  batallion of treasure hunters fits of glee and horror at how it's all been stored.

The mounds of treasure  stretch until  they the windows overlooking the city. From there it drops off into a breathtaking view of the city, its harbor, and the great sea beyond. 

“ Sweet cheese and crackers…” 

The coins and things to our right jingle as they rise slightly and go back down, sort of like the swell of the sea. 

“ Behold! A mighty and powerful wizard accompanied by a noble and strong defender of justice! Should I tremble in fear or rejoice at their coming?” The dragon's voice boomed from underneath the sea of gold and silver, causing a minor landslide of jingling coins. “ Or perhaps…..  both ?”

Judy looks up at me and I shrug. “We have come…”

“Questions, yes… Answers I may have, but like them you will not.”

“ Isn’t that the way of these things?” I ask. 

“ Perhaps for ones such as you. Of all the things I expected to walk into my lair never would I expect a fox and a rabbit whose lives are so inexplicably woven together.”

“ And what did you expect?”

“ Friends surely, but lovers?.” A low rumbling chuckle filled the space, causing a minor mountain slide of gold to our left. “Even then, if you would have told me all these long years ago that a fox and a rabbit would willingly walk into my lair…”

“ Hey, we are not!” Judy shouts, her ears ramrod straight in  indignation . 

“Your scents are too intertangled for you to be otherwise. Who am I to judge ones such as you?” There is an uncanny mirth to the dragon's voice. “But I remember a time long past when vulpines and lagomorphs were not so kind to each other. It honestly gives me hope for this world.”

“ Hope is like a candle in the dark,” Judy says sagely. I look down at her, somewhat surprised, and smile warmly. 

“ Mmmmm perhaps. But which are you, hmmm? The candle or the moth…  Only time shall tell.” A massive shower of gold, silver, and other assorted trinkets  rain down as Kaddreith lifts his massive head and body from the sea of riches. 

He is both marvelous and a terror to behold. His front claws one at a time pull clear of the amassed treasure and thunder down onto it. I swallow nervously, as his claws are two, maybe even three times longer than I am tall. My eyes track up along his dark red scales and over his golden underbelly to his massive head. His head has to take up more space than my entire apartment twice over. 

I can feel fear knot in my stomach as I watch him stretch out his bat-like wings.  His wingspan would easily match that of any jumbo jet. He  folds his wings against his body as his rear claws and tail  come clear of the sea of many treasures. The magnificent display also put the sheer scale of the room into perspective. What at first  seems like a short walk to the windows now seems like leagues away, and now that view is dominated by a thankfully not very angry dragon. 

He gestures to the pair of chairs. “Please make yourself comfortable.” He  crosses his claws in front of him, looking  very at ease.

I nod nervously to Judy. Her ears are flat down her back and shaking slightly; she looks torn between fight or flight and I cannot say I blame her.  Standing before  the apex of apex predators is both  a  frightening and humbling experience. 

“ Now, what brings you to my humble abode?” Kaddreirth asks as we make ourselves comfortable in the provided chairs.

“ You don't already know?” Judy asks, breaking through her fear. “Miss Fawnsworth made it sound like we were already expected.” 

The corners of the dragons broad muzzle turn up slightly and a rumbling chuckle fills the room. “Oh… I see why you like her now. She has a  fiery spirit.” His serpentine eyes flick to me momentarily before turning back to Judy. “To answer your question Officer Hopps, yes I know why  you're here. I know the answer to the question you want to ask. I also know the answer to what is truly going on.” He pauses for a moment as his head lowers ever so slightly, almost like  he's trying to see on our level. “But I have found that mammals tend to … ” He pauses as he rolls a few words around in his head for a moment. “Get unnerved if I don't let them ask their questions.”

Judy huffs. “Fine, what can you tell us about the green dragon scale we found? Can you get us in touch with the sellers of it?” 

“ The sellers are unimportant. You will not bother them.” 

“ But....” Her ears shot back up ramrod straight

The dragon's head rises again his eyes narrow dangerously. “I said you will not bother them.” The words come out with a dangerous rumbling undertone.

“ But…”

I reach over and put my paw on her shoulder. “Fluff, remember what I said about imposing wills on dragons?”

“Your wizard is wise Officer Hopps; you should listen to him.”

She swallows nervously and looks back up at Kadderith., her ears down her back  once more . “Sorry. If the sellers are not important then what can you tell us about the buyer?”

He eyes her for a moment. “The buyer is a talismancer. I do not know of them directly, but there are only three in the city with the financial ability to afford dragon scales as a power source for talisman s .” 

I frown slightly before asking. “Why 450 to 40 AE  gold denars ?”

Kaddreirth’s gaze slowly shifted to me. “Ahhh, finally the right question.” He tilts his head to Judy. “Don't worry Officer Hopps, the information will be provided for you to narrow down your search. If I told you the answer directly that would not satisfy your court system would it not?”

She shakes her head no. “Thank you; any help at this point will prove invaluable.” 

“Now as you know there are many deities in this world. As long as there are mammals that believe those deities exist. Karma for instance, or Serendipity for another.”

“ What about you?” Judy asks. 

The low rumbling chuckle from the dragon causes the assembled coinage to jingle. “No, my kind was here before you mammals and will be here long after. Around the time frame those coins were minted a new diety, a much younger one, started to gain traction. His corporeal form died about the time mammals signed The Accords.” 

My frown deepens. “ You're talking  about Christ?” 

The dragon nods. “His following was small; many mammals had different ideas and ideals of what he did and didn’t stand for. As such, a war in their heaven was fought.” He pauses, frowning as he taps his chin with the tip of a claw. “A mutiny might be a better word for it. Either way, twelve members of the pantheon were exiled.”

“ Exiled to where?” Judy asks. “And what does this have to do with our coin theft?”

“ Patience …” Kaddreirth rumbles gently. “ The scriptures say they were exiled to  Hell .  If such a place exists, I know it not, but they didn’t end up there. Instead they were imprisoned  within objects and cast out.”

“ Wait you're talking about fallen  angels ?” Judy asks. “Like Lucifur?”

“ Exactly.” 

“ But he's supposed to be in  Hell !” Judy shouts as she stands up. “ You're telling us this is about the souls of twelve fallen  angels that some crazy mammal wants to get their paws on?  What for ?”

“ Power.”

I lean back against my chair and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Has the talismancer found one yet?”

“ I don't believe so.”

“ Don’t believe so?” 

He grins as he looks down at us. “If the mammal in question found one I believe he would have made himself known by now.” He looks thoughtful for a moment. “But you are in good fortune, as I happen to know a mammal that is well versed in fighting the  Fallen .”

“ Do you now?” 

“ His name is Micheal Carpenter, and he is a Knight of the Cross.”

“ A knight… like in shining armor and all that?”

“ Exactly.” Kaddreirth’s grin now borderlines on smug.

Judy groans. “As if my life couldn’t get any crazier…”

“ Elain will present you with the pertinent information. Now, if you would allow me to present you with a gift.” 

“ A gift?”

“ Yes, a gift. It is still the custom for mammals to give a gift on the anniversary of your birth is it not?”

Judy looks up at me then back over at the dragon. “It is, but it's neither of our birthdays yet…”

“ Yours is next month Nicholas, is it not?” Kaddreirth asks me. 

A shiver  goes down my back at the use of my true first name. He  speaks it perfectly, exactly as my mother intended when she named me. I swallow and attempt to hide my nervousness. “It is.”

“ Excellent! I feel I have been remiss about these things. I do hope you  don't take offense; I am a good friend of your mother ' s after all.” He looks toward the door. “Elain will you please present it to Nicholas.”

The clacking of hooves on the highly polished flooring  sounds almost like gunshots and cause my back to tense slightly in response.

“ I know it's not much, but I feel it is best to give this to you now.”

Miss Fawnsworth hands me an elongated jewelry case just wider than my paw. I look up at Kaddreirth, confused. 

“ Please accept this gift free from any fear that I might call upon a favor at a later date.” The words flow off the dragon's tongue almost as if by rote. It puts my mind at ease, as most of the time gifts from the supernatural come at a price. I look back down at the jewelry case and open it. 

I blink in shock; the jewelry case holds a silver woven metal ring bracelet. The rings are woven in such a way as  as to almost  resemble rope. Spaced evenly along its length are four pendants and an empty ring for a fight. Each pendant is intricately carved with runes to cast a shield spell. It's perfectly done and easily outclasses my own atrocious attempts at crafting one. The thing must have cost a fortune to have made. 

“ I believe that it is customary to say thank you,”  the dragon says, his voice pulling me from my thoughts  and I look up, startled. My ears rotate back as I look up at the dragon.

“ Thank you.” I glance back down at the shield bracelet. “It's a lovely gift.”

“ May it serve you well.” He pauses for a moment as I take the bracelet out of the box and clasp it around my left wrist. “Tell me Nicholas, how is your mother?” 

I shrug as I shake my wrist just a bit. “I wouldn’t know; near as I know she is dead.”

“ Really now?” There is a hint of surprise in the dragon’s voice. “ Pity ....” He eyes us for a moment. “It would seem our business is concluded.”

I stand, picking up my staff from where I leaned it against the chair. The clacking of hooves once again precedes  the approach of  Miss Fawnsworth. 

“ Officer Hopps,” I look over as she speaks. “This thumb drive holds all the information that has been promised to you.” I watch as a small grey object  is passed to Judy. 

“ Thank you, and thank you for your time Kaddreirth.”

“ You're most welcome Officer Hopps , ”  the dragon rumbles. 

“ Come, I will see you two out.”

I nod and fall  into step beside Judy as we are walked once again to the massive wood and iron doors. Miss Fawnsworth once again pulls them open effortlessly.

“ Nicholas,” I turn and look  back  at Kaddrierth. “A word of advice, again freely given. Not to sound too cliche, but the key to a long existence is truly about the simple things. Such as a glass of fine wine, the company of a fine female, and the looting of something of value  from your  enemy's charred and mangled corpse.” The dragon grins at me. “The  latter I suggest you try at least once.”

I nod and turn to follow Judy back into the office area. Looking over my shoulder, I catch just a glimpse of the massive form of the dragon being enveloped in a cloud of purple smoke as Miss Fawnsworth shuts the doors. 


	5. Chapter 4

# Chapter 4

“ You know, you probably shouldn’t have accepted that gift,” Judy pipes up as we walk away from the dragon's highrise.

“ Oh?” 

She looks up at me. “It could be construed as a bribe and trying to influence a public servant.”

I shrug. “I'm little  more than a contractor; besides, I doubt that the ZPD would spring for something like this.”

“ What does it do?” 

“ Remember the shield I cast to save our and Fangmeyer's lives?” I pause for a moment. “Well it's like that but perfect, more complete.”

“ More  complete how?”

“ If this bracelet is say, a masterpiece of art, then mine was a kit’s crayon scribblings with .” I turn the bracelet around my wrist and look at one of the pendants. “There are runes here that I know next to nothing about ; others are so small that I can just barely make them out. The mammal that made this had to have been on the smaller side of the scale, and the craftsmammalship is top notch.”

“ Sounds  expensive .”

“Most definitely.” We pause on the sidewalk as I look down at her. “Listen Fluff, this bracelet is in an entirely different weight class than mine.. The one I made was designed to stop bullets not walls of hell fire. It's why it heated up as I pushed it well past anything it was ever meant to do. This, on the other paw?” I pause for a moment, gathering my thoughts. “This would likely protect us from dragon fire.”

She nods. “From the sounds of it I doubt the ZPD Quartermaster would be able to supply you with anything you need.” 

I nod. “And I can only imagine the aneurysm that Chief Buffalo Butt would have if he received the bill for something like this.”

She nods slowly; I can see the wheels turning in her head. “Then we don't tell him.” 

I frown slightly as I start to remember the sections of the ZPD Ethics Policy that  she's referring to. “You sure?”

She nods once  and continues walking toward the  precinct building . “The threat we face cannot be fought conventionally by the ZPD. I think Chief Bogo understood this when he hired you.  The ZPD  can't afford  and doesn't have the purchasing channels to properly equip you and as such we have to rely on unconventional means.” 

I nod as I once again fall into step beside her. “Thank you Fluff.”

“ Your welcome.” She grins up at me. “Besides, I'm not in the habit of taking away my boyfriend's birthday presents. Just when is your birthday anyway?”

“ October 31st.”

“ Really?  Wow, you're lucky to be born on Halloween.” She glances up at me. “I bet your birthday was a blast growing up. A party, then trick-or-treating.”

“ I never did any of that.”

“ Any of what?” 

“ Trick-or-treating, birthday parties, you know?” I wave my paw dismissively. “I moved around a lot with my dad and well, after that…” I shrug. “It kinda lost its magic. Besides, after my father was killed I was an apprentice and that took priority over a lot of things. So when's your birthday?”

“July 4th. Really, no parties?” 

“ Nope, my dad made them feel special enough without the hoopla.”

Judy frowns as something starts turning in her head. “I share my birthday with  two brothers and  three sisters. My parents couldn't afford a big birthday celebration for all of us. I mean, with as many brothers and sisters as I have it's almost always somebunny's birthday, but  each of us always got a small gift and some cake.”

I blink in response; it's a glimpse into a family life that  I've never had, never experienced, nor have any experience with. My ears slowly flatten against my skull as I glance down at her. My grandfather always said that birthdays are just another day and had me get to work either in the fields, the chicken  coops, or on my studies. 

“ Hey, will you do me a favor?” Judy asks, pulling me out of my thought

“ Sure Fluff, what do ya need?”

“ Will you take the scale up to the lab?”  she asks, pulling the small green scale out of one of her belt pouches. “Lab needs to at least try to run some tests on it.” 

I nod and take the small baggie from her. “Sure, no problem.”

“ Thanks. I'll have to fill out some paperwork stating  that it's been in my custody since we found it yesterday afternoon.” She pauses for a moment. “I'll need to talk to Chief Bogo; not sure if he wants me put ‘dragon scale’ in the computer system.”

I snort and grin, imagining his face already. “Have fun with that.”

Twenty minutes later I’m standing outside of the lab being stared down by an irate-looking squirrel in a lab coat.

“ You absolutely cannot come in here!” The squirrel glares at me. “ You're like a walking EMP generator and we have highly sensitive electronic devices in here.”

“ I know…”

“ But…”

“ Look. I'm just here to drop this off for testing.” I hold out the baggie containing the dragon scale. “But you might…”

“Gimmie that.” She snatches the baggie from my paw and darts back into the lab with a slam of the door. 

“ Want to be careful what you test it with.” I say to the door. Staring at it for a moment a slow smug grin spreads across my muzzle; I move  across the hall from the lab's entrance  to lean against the wall across the hall and wait.

Maybe the squirrel was curious or maybe Judy put a rush order on whatever the lab could get from the scale. Either way I don't have long to wait as I hear a  telltale zap and pop as some ‘ highly sensitive ’ electronic device or another  goes up in a puff of magic blue smoke. I raise an eyebrow as the lights in the hallway flicker wildly  just before a second pop and zap is heard. Moments later the mammals that work in the lab come pouring out,  coughing . One of the mammals, a rat wearing goggles and a buttoned up lab coat, looks likesomething  has gone off in his face. The fur around his muzzle and  wherever else the goggles didn't protect him is blackened  and the tip of one of his long whiskers is singed ever so slightly. 

The smell of ozone is so thick it's almost stifling.  Thankfully the fire alarms  haven't gone off; otherwise I'm sure Chief Bogo and, maybe worse, Carrots would be quite cross with me. 

“ What did you bring into my lab?” The sudden question drew my attention down to the slightly irritated koala standing before me. The only hint of his irritation is his brown eyes all but shooting daggers into me.

I study him for a moment before standing up from against the wall. “I’ll  let you choose between two answers.”

“ And what answers might those be?”

“ Either an answer that will allow you to sleep at night or the truth.”

“ Mr. Wilde I have made it my life's work to study the many branches of the tree of knowledge and as such the truth does help me sleep at night.”

I nod. weighing his words slightly. “I gave one of your…”  my eyes shoot over the female squirrel that had all but slammed the lab door in my face, “ assistants a rather small green scale.”

“ You're telling me this was caused by a scale?”

I nod. “The scale itself is from  the whelping of a green dragon. It's somehow being used to commit robberies.”

“ A whelpling?” 

I hold my paws about two feet apart. “About  yea big from tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. Never actually have seen one but...”

“ But what?” 

“ Well Fl… Officer Hopps and I had a rather intriguing conversation with a rather large red dragon today.  At least he wasn’t angry and fire breathing ...” I pause for a moment. “Well I guess technically  he is a fire-breathing dragon, since  he's a red dragon.”

“ I can't tell if you're just shaking my branch or if you're serious.”

“ Oh I'm deadly serious. The dragon was huge.” I pause for a moment, thinking about it. “I’m pretty sure he would have given a jumbo jet a run for its money in the size department.”

He frown his eyes bore holes into me. “Why tell me this?”

I’m reminded of an earlier conversation with Karma. Why indeed?

I sigh and look over to the walkway overlooking the ZPD atrium. “I like you.  You're smart and inquisitive and you don't take anything at face value. You handle upsets in your world perceptions well.” I look back down at him. “But the things I like about you can also get you killed if you  aren't careful.”

“ What, you’ll…”

I shake my head. “No, I won't lift a paw against you. Remember, I like you. But you are in a unique position to study the….  beings that call this city home.”

Dr. Treeroot  harumphs and crosses his arms across his chest. “Some studying I've gotten to do; the body was taken before I could even do an autopsy.” 

I nod. “Probably for the best;  elves don't take well to having their secrets exposed, and pulling back that curtain wouldn’t have boded well for your health.” 

“ Then what am I supposed to do, ignore it all?” 

“ Not at all. Look, poke, and prod; ask questions.” I smile slightly. “Just  remember that some things might poke back.”

“ Fat chance of that ever happening .” He waves a paw dismissively. “The things that cross my work space are dead.”

I shrug as I start walking away. “Not everything that dies always stays that way.”

Maybe that was laying it on a little thick. I genuinely do like the  koala forensic scientist, but  there's a nagging sensation in my gut concerning him. I stuff my paws into my pockets as I head downstairs, the trinkets on the bracelet making a minor jingling sound as I do so. 

My conversation with Dr. Treeroot had taken longer than expected. Not that  I'd planned on having a conversation with him, but it had amused me when the squirrel secreted off that sample without listening to me. Perhaps something else will change now.

Change has been a near constant companion of mine of late.

I pause in the doorway of our office as my eyes land on Judy. She is the embodiment of the changes happening in my life. I’m both annoyed and extremely grateful. There are days I miss the quiet afternoons whiling away the day with a good book. But if I’m being honest here, (and let's face it, if you  can't be honest with yourself then  you're doomed) those days were not nearly as fulfilling. 

But at the same time she scares me. 

“ You're brooding.” 

I smirk. “How do you know?  You didn’t even look at me.”

“ Because my screen always flickers when you brood.” She turns and looks at me with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Well, either that or I've been watching you in the reflection of my monitor for the last few minutes.” 

Smiling warmly I walk over to my desk and sit down. “Find  any interesting information on that thumb drive?”

“ It contained a very interesting set of video clips.” She grins at me as she turns her chair to face me. 

“ Of?” 

“ The lobby of Lemming Brothers Bank yesterday morning.” She picks up a piece of paper and carries it over ot me. 

I look at the grainy printed picture and frown. It shows a rather smug looking mustelid. “Who's this?” 

“ The Duke of Sleazydom.”

I frown for a moment, the name striking a  chord of familiarity. “Weaselton?” It takes me a few moments to place the name. “That sleazy assed strip club manager?” 

She nods as I look up. “The thumb drive contains a clip from one of the bank's security cameras.” She grins. “ Weaselton will be our way in; if we can get him to talk, we can round up the talismancer that hired him."

I smile at her. “It also would keep Kaddrierth out of reports and  therefore out of the court case.”

“ Exactly! We can always say that the thumb drive was delivered anonymously.”

“ Will Buffalo Butt go for it though?” 

“ I’m pretty sure he will. But  there's only one way to find out.” 

I nod and stand up, handing her back the piece of paper. “After you, Fluff.”

Our trip up to Chief Bogo’s office is relatively quick. I do my best not to "brood" as my lampine girlfriend so eloquently puts it. My feelings for her are growing, and that scares me more than any demon; but I do my best not to think about any of that. It’s not the time or place to  meditate on such topics. 

Stepping into Bogo’s office isn’t nearly as intimidating as it used to be. As intimidating as the large buffalo can be, I've seen larger. I stand off to the side, looking  at the pictures taken over the course of Bogo’s career. Promotions, awards, letters of thanks and gratitude all covered the wall, painting a picture of  galantry and justice for the Chief.

“ You're sure that the information  from this… dragon can be trusted?” I can see Bogo’s lip curl slightly just before  saying the word "dragon".

“ He’s given us no reason not to,” Judy replied. 

Bogo glanced over at me. “ You’ve been awfully quiet; what do you think?” 

I turn from the awards on the wall. “It takes a bunch of theives off of the street and gives us a way to get to whoever is behind this. But that does  bring up a concern that needs to be addressed.”

“ And that is ?”

“ When we arrest them how are you going to be able to hold them?”

“ In a cell!” 

I can see Judy look between us, her nose twitching as the wheels start turning.

I nod. “ You're going to hold a mammal that can just as easily make himself a trinket to escape?”

“ If you're mentioning this now, I suppose you have a solution.”

“ I wouldn’t call it a solution; you just need to be ready to toss his cell constantly,  as well as those of whatever lackeys they make in prison.” I look between them. “ They'll need to be watched very carefully; otherwise  they'll escape.”

Bogo nods slowly, much to my suprise. “I’ll have to have a talk with the warden. You are right though;  we're not prepared to deal with a magic user.”

I nod and look at Judy. “I trust Judy’s police work; if she thinks this will get us to the mammal behind this without the DA potentially sending a subpoena to a dragon, then I stand behind it.” 

Judy frowns. “You think he wouldn’t take that well?”

“ Not at all,” I grin. “I think he would enjoy  it a little too much. It would probably amuse him to no end, until someone asks something that he doesn’t want to answer.”

Judy nods slowly and looks back over at Chief Bogo. “He definitely didn't want us talking about the sellers of the dragon scales. He got quite defensive about it.”

Bogo’s frown deepens. “We might need to come up with a way to contain him.”

I start to chuckle and turn to the wall of awards and momentos once  more . 

“ What's so funny?  If he's that dangerous…”  the Chief starts. 

“ Allow me to pass down some wisdom that my grandfather gave me when it comes to dragons.” I turn and look at the  Cape buffalo. “Never interfere in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. You might be able to dart him, but that would only last so long; and even if you kept him down, what would you do about the rest?” 

“ I think Nick is right about this Chief,” Judy interrupts. “I got the impression that Kaddreirth generally likes mammaldom. But making a move against him would be counter productive when we should make all attempts  befriend him .” 

“ Be that  as it may, we do not live in a fantasy world where you can hope your problems away,” Bogo  says , looking between us. “If this dragon is as dangerous as you say…”

“ Only if you provoke him.”

“ We still need to come up with a….”

“ Let me ask you something Chief.” He pauses, glaring at me. I can tell I've just about pushed my luck with the Cape  buffalo . “ Have the mice of Little Rodentia come up with a way to contain you?”

“ We are way off topic.” Judy  interrupts . “Chief we need an arrest warrant for Duke  Weaselton and, depending on how much we can get him to talk, one for the talismancer as well.” 

He glares at me and snorts, but nods. “You already have enough for a probable cause arrest; at the very least  he's a prime suspect. But Ill get a warrant application in anyway; as for anyone else,  we'll have to wait and see what you can shake out of  Weaselton .”

“ Come on Nick, let's go bag us a  sleazeball .” 

I nod  and shoot one last look at Bogo, who glares at me before falling  into step behind Judy. I frown as my mind keeps rolling down the path that Chief Bogo seemingly wants to go down. Containing a being as powerful as Kaddreirth would mean they could easily contain a wizard like me; but could they come up with a way to contain say, Karma? I swallow nervously as the ramifications of that prospect rolls through my head. Hopefully none of it ever comes to pass. 

I stumble slightly as Judy hip checks me. “Hey, you ok?”  she asks as I regain my balance. “I said your name like four times and you were zoned out.”

“ Sorry  Carrots, I was lost in thought.” 

“ Brooding about Bogo?”

Sighing I nod. “That's some dangerous thinking,  considering ways to take on a dragon when said dragon has so far shown anything but aggression.”

She glances up at me as we enter the stairwell. “I can see both sides… Something must have scared him.”

“ Well hopefully he gets a handle on his fear, or he finds someone to talk to about it.” We stop at the next landing. “Tell me Fluff, did you get the feeling that Kaddreirth was up to something shady?”

She shakes her head. “Clandestine maybe, but illegal?” She shrugs. “Doubtful, but it would be hard to tell from appearances.” 

“ True, but I’m willing to bet that he even pays his taxes,” I huff. “Going after him could be dangerous, I really hope Chief Buffalo Butt figures that out before he does something…” I was about to say "stupid" but decided against it at the last moment. “Drastic.”

“ What do you think would happen?”

I look up and down the stairwell. “Kaddreirth could very well be the oldest being on the face of the planet. He probably has ties with so many of the supernatural communities that we might as well say all of them.” 

Her ears fall back behind her head  as I  notice the inner portions go completely pale. “It would be a war…” 

I nod and  continue down the stairs. “Come on, let's go get our  weasel and hopefully give Bogo something to think about other than capturing dragons.” 

The ride out to the Red Light District passes in silence. Both of us are brooding over Chief Bogo’s comments. My thoughts  on that subject are troubling to say the least. Questions bounce around in my head over loyalties, and at the moment I have no readily available answers.  On one paw I have my employer, and on the other I have supernatural elements who mostly just want to live their lives in peace.  There's a third option, but that one troubles me more than the other two. Mostly because of the feelings I have that revolve around Judy and her daughter.

If I thought the club reeked of desperation and broken hopes and dreams in the early morning hours, it's nothing compared to showing up early in the morning. Even the air outside of the place had a feeling of depression about the place. The once bright red paint is now  a faded off-pink with brighter patches here and there  where some of the more crude  grafitti had been painted over. The palm trees out front looked like they were holding onto life by the barest of threads. 

“ Come on Slick, let's go bag us a weasel,” Judy  says, far more upbeat than I would normally expect. I just shake my head. It's hard to understand how she can be so upbeat after spending the last twenty minutes or so brooding.

I grab my staff as the hinge of her door creaks as she opens  it . My door screams in protest. Perhaps something about brooding causes rust? The car doors thunk shut and even from this distance we can hear the thundering  bass line of some song or  other . 

“ You sure he’s even here?” I ask, sounding skeptical. “I mean it's awful early in the day.”

“ I’m betting that sleazeball is here; he wouldn’t miss a chance of making money.” Judy nods as we walk toward the front entrance. “ Do you think he ever got that security camera fixed?”

“ No idea.” I raise an eyebrow and look down at her. “I take it  that's our way in?”

She nods. “ If we try to go in and arrest him directly, even with probable cause, he could possibly wiggle out of it.” She  glances up at me and slows her pace. “But if we go in and arrest him for the camera,  which I'm willing to bet he  hasn't even fixed yet, we can search his place of business.” 

“ And probably find some of the coins.”

Judy nods. “Exactly; if we find a few of the coins we can get him to sing like a  canary .” 

“ Ok, so what do you need me to do?” 

“ Just keep an eye on things; if he bolts be ready to back me up.” 

I nod and follow her up to the door.  There's a rather bored looking  dingo leaning against the  entryway, sipping on a bottle covered in a brown bag. 

“ Why hello there law buns, just what can we do fer ya and yer friend?” The dingo squinted at us, not even bothering to stand up from the wall. “ We're closed but I’m sure da boss would make an exception fer yas.” His eyes fell onto me. “Yer friend might have ta wait outside  though .” 

“ Hi!” Judy said with  an upbeat tone to her voice. “ We're with the ZPD. I’m Judy Hopps and this is my partner Nick Wilde.  We're here…”

“ Don’t care; we’re closed,”  the dingo  says, his tone and attitude changing as he  stands up straight. 

“ The music says other wise.”

“ Boss is having auditions for new girls.  Yer gonna have to come back ....”

“ Nope!” Judy  says cheerfully. “The Zootopia Securities Act of 2011 states that all businesses have to have inward and outward facing cameras in good working condition. With the ZPD being charged with ensuring compliance we have to give 72 hours notice of a pending visit. I told your boss a month ago that I would come by at some point to check that he got that camera fixed.”

“ Look, I dunno about any of that…”  the dingo rubs at the back of his head.

“ Now, unless you would like to join your boss in an obstruction charge…” I follow Judy as we push our way past the  dingo . She smirks as the door easily pulls open and just shakes her head at the dingo.

If I thought the music was thunderous outside it's even worse inside. I can barely hear myself think let alone hear anything Judy may or may not say to me. There are a number of things bothering me all at once. First of all, the "music."It  sounds like an  overly bass driven remix of some pop singer's latest hit, but reduced down to just a looping set of “Try Everything” on repeat. 

Then there's the flashing lights. The house lights strobed and pulsed here and there in a multitude of different colors. The lights changed colors so much and so fast that it reminded me heavily of unicorn vomit. You’ll have to trust me on this; please don't ask as it wasn't a fun experience. 

Oh, and let's not forget the half-naked doe up on the stage. The look of sheer terror on her face makes it clear to me that she is now regretting the life decisions that had gotten her here. 

Judy tugs on my shirt and tries to yell something at me and I can only look down at her in confusion; after all, I’m a wizard not a lip reader. 

I roll my eyes and start to  pour just a fraction of my will into a spell, one that I may or may not have developed just for a situation like this. Or maybe I made it to destroy pesky multifunction printers.. I plead the fifth on that one either way, though it seems appropriate in this situation.

I raise my right paw and snap my fingers as I mutter the word “Hexus”  and release the built up power. A smug grin slowly spreads across my muzzle as a series of pops  is heard around the room and the lights stop flashing. Instead they bathe the room in pools of red, blue, and green. After  another rapid series of pops the music dies in a death warble that almost mimicked the sound  that the Millenium Falcon makes when the hyperdrive fails.

I lean against my staff and look down at Judy. Her eyes dart  from me  to the room and back again before her own smug smile spreads across her face.

"Wow Fluff , ” I  say as Judy starts to head toward  Weaselton . “I knew  he was cheap but this brings it to a whole new level.”

“ Hmmm; maybe we should get  Code Enforcement down here for a building inspection?”  she asks,  then rolls her eyes and looks up at me. “I mean sheesh, did you see how fast the electronics in here just went out? I'm pretty sure this place is a fire hazard.” 

“ Also the  Health Department .” My lip curls involuntarily in disgust. “I'm not sure I want to know what's in this carpet.”

Judy nods. “That reminds me,  there's some disinfectant wipes in the back of the cruiser.” 

“ Hardy har har,”  Weaselton intoned. “Aren’t you two funny, a  regular Rabbit and Clawstello…” 

Judy raises her eyebrow and looks up at me as I just shrug.”

“ Now, will either of you two mind explaining,” Weasletons balls up his fists, “JUST WHAT  THE FUCK YOU DID TO MY CLUB!” 

“ Do?” I ask innocently. “I didn’t do anything did you Carrots?”

“ Nope.” She grins as she makes a popping sound with the p. “I didn’t do anything, but I’m also willing to bet you haven't  done anything either. For instance, about the security camera that's supposed to be watching the alleyway.” 

“ I fixed it!” Duke shouts, his eyes darting between us. Even if he did I'm pretty sure it wouldn't matter now, as I’m willing to bet that I took it out along with everything else.

“ Hey Boss!”  a scrawnier than normal looking  weasel yells as he comes out from the back somewhere. “Da cameras went out again…” 

“ Carl can’t ya see I'm busy?” Duke asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Call the repair guy!”

“ Fine!”  There's some muttering followed by, “Judging from the state of the breaker box though, yer going to need to fence some of those fancy smancy coins of yers.”  There's some more muttering followed by a loud zap and  yelp of pain. Some of the lights wink the rest of the way out, casting the place into a darker gloom. “Jezus! Its a  miracle any of the lights are on at all!” 

Judy and I look at each other and grin before turning to look at Duke. Or at least we would have if the chair that  he'd been sitting in a split second before wasn't suddenly empty. The sound of crashing chairs and cussing  draws our attention as Duke  attempts to cut a corner a little too close to a table and manages to snag his suit jacket on one of the chairs. 

“ Halt,  Weaselton !” Judy  yells before  taking off after him. Groaning, I take off after both of them. 

My eyes go wide as I see Judy leap over a couple of overturned chairs, flip in mid air, and push off another table. The bold maneuver allowed her to  simulaneously avoid the obstacle and redirect her momentum back toward following  Weaselton toward the back of the club. I, on the other paw, wasn't so lucky. 

Having been distracted by Judy’s quick thinking and acrobatics I have no time or distance to cast a spell. Instead I plow straight into it, crossing my staff in front of me and hoping it acts like an ice breaker. Maybe it would have if  Weaselton didn’t cheap out on seats  like he's cheaped out on everything else. So it didn’t because he did. Instead of acting like an icebreaker it acted as an arrestor cable, punching through the cheap worn fabric of the chairs and tangling into the flat slats that made up the backs. I ended up doing a pretty impressive flip myself but thankfully it wasn’t witnessed by anyone. 

Coughing as my lungs attempt to refill with air I let go of my staff and roll to my side. It takes me a moment longer than I would have liked to get back up and untangle my staff from the cheap chairs. I kick one of the chairs away and it  collapses into a small cloud of cheap wood particles. 

I’ll be honest, the only thing that keeps the cheap furniture from receiving a fiery execution is Judy’s call of “NICK!”.

Turning my attention back down the hall where  she'd chased after Weasleton I hurried along. That call  does more to put my attention back on task than I would have liked to admit to. But hey, when cheap furniture knocks the wind out of you let me know how quick you are to get back on task and not start looking for some retribution of your own.

I find Judy at the end of the hall throwing herself against a door. It's a stark reminder to me that for all her hard work and determination there are some things she needs help with. 

“ Come on Nick!” Judy says hurriedly before trying to bun fu kick the door down. “He’s still in there; I can hear him rustling around!” 

I nod as I look at the door. There  aren't even dents in the woodwork from where Judy has thrown her not inconsiderable might against it. As such it appears to be one of the few things in the club that  Weaselton hasn’t skimped on to save a buck or two. 

I level the head of my staff at the door as I start gathering up the power needed for the spell. 

“ Wait!” Judy calls. “After you knock it down let me go in first.”

I once again gather my will and  pour power, as well as a bit of my annoyance at the furniture, into the spell as I thrust the head of my staff forward with a shout of. “FORZARE!” 

While the door itself may have been fairly sturdy the wood studs that held it up turned out to be the weak point. Either that or I poured  too much annoyance into the spell. The door didn't so much as fall into the room as it rocketed across it, clearing a path of destruction in its wake. Slamming into the desk it attempted to cart wheel over it only to be stopped in its tracks by the wall. From the sound the door made it wasn't the cheap paneling that stopped it  but the sturdy reinforced concrete that made up the building's outer wall. 

Judy shoots me a look as she darts through the door. I frown. _Oops,_ I think to myself with a shrug and step into the space cleared by the door. 

“ Give it up Weaselton,” Judy  says calmly, her paw resting on the dart pistol on her right hip. 

Weasleton looked bug eyed from her to me and back to her again before looking at the smashed in door. He's holding an round object in his paws “SHADUS!”  he shouts , shaking it desperately.

Weaselton's voice went up a few octaves as he shook the round object in his paws. “Why won't this blasted thing work!” 

“ I find magic items work better when they have all their parts.” I honestly  can't help the slow smug grin of satisfaction that spreads across my muzzle. Well I probably could help it but the sudden realization on  Weaselton's face when he  realizes that he done fucked up just wouldn't let me. 

In a desperate attempt to flee he tosses the object at Judy. Maybe it was his desperation or maybe it was  sheer clumsiness; the toss ended up sailing harmlessly over Judy’s head. And with skills borne of many an afternoon playing catch in the park with Cotton I snatched the object out of the air with my right paw.

She on the other paw  isn't clumsy at all as she  steps forward and  grabs his extended right wrist while pivoting at the hip. Down  Weaselton went with Judy on his back pulling his right wrist up  behind him . 

I wince in sympathy, as she's put in me in many such holds several times in the past. Though Weaselton struggles, it doesn't take long for Judy to wrangle control of both of his paws and get her cuffs on him. 

She grins up at me like she just won the lottery. “Let's get him out to the car and get this called in.” 


	6. Chapter 5

## 

# Chapter 5

Several hours later I'm following Judy down the hall from our office to the elevator.  There's a noticeable spring in her step, almost like  she's giddy and just barely keeping herself from skipping down the hall. Needless to say the search of the strip club ended up being more fruitful than we had hoped, giving us plenty of rope to hang Duke Weaselton with. I almost  feel sorry for the guy; ultimately  he's just a pawn  that's about to get shafted by justice.  Granted, this is mostly his own doing; he kept way  too many of those coins in his office  so that when Judy got a search warrant for his home … well .  There's one thing  that's certain: Duke  Weaselton is not a criminal mastermind. But in his defense moving that many hot gold coins can’t be easy.

“ So think you can make him talk?” I ask as we near the stairs. 

“ Oh most definitely.” She grins up at me. “Did you know  that several of the coins stolen are worth over ten thousand dollars a piece?” 

I shake my head as I  let out a low whistle.

“ Now all the coins probably  aren't worth that but if we, say, take an average then the  hoard we found could be valued at  over 1.5 million.” 

“While that is a very impressive number, how exactly does that help us?”

“ Well you see, that rockets right up past petty theft and hits the lofty  heights, of felony grand theft. After that sprinkle in some resisting arrest charges with a side of assault and now  Weaselton is looking at…” She trails off for a moment as she pulls open the stairwell door. “Ya know, I wonder if finding out that  he's looking at a minimum of 50 years will make his eyes pop out.” 

“ Easy there Carrots; he won't be able to finger the rest of  his cronies if you pop the top of his head off.” 

“ Well then Slick, I guess  we'll get to answer an age old question.”

“ What's that?”

“ If a weasel really does go pop.”

I roll my eyes at her and shake my head slightly. “Really Carrots?” I sigh in mock exasperation. “Next you’ll be asking me, ' What does the fox say?'”

“ Well?”  she asks as she pulls the door open at the ground level. “What does the fox say?”

“ Hardy har har Carrots.” Despite my mild annoyance at the joke I willingly walked into I grin down at her. “ Anyway,  I'll admit  that you've woven quite a web.” 

Walking into the interview room, I'm hit with a pair of thoughts.  The first thought is, I kinda get why police don't want to refer to their interrogation rooms as interrogation rooms. I mean if  you're trying to be  the friendly neighborhood police you probably should have interview rooms, even though most of the time the interview is more like question, answer, and thinly veiled threats, but I digress. The second thought I have is that  the other mammal in the room  is wearing way  too nice of a suit to belong to  belong to anyone that would associate by choice with  Weaselton . 

A small female feline sits with a poise rarely seen these days. Her knees  are crossed  demurely as she tends to the extended claws of her right paw with a small silver nail file. Her Armini suit is tailored to the point that it  looks like a second skin on her. It's dark black and contrasts heavily with her short bright orange fur. The dark stripes that criss crossed the little of exposed fur wouldn’t look out of place on a tiger ten times her size. Her triangular ears sit facing forward as if everything else in the room is beneath her. 

Her judgemental green eyes  lift towards us as the door opens. The room itself is laid out like any other interview room. A slate grey metal table is bolted to the floor. Matter of fact, the only thing not bolted to the floor is the chairs. But  seeing as how Duke's paws are cuffed through a metal bar on top of the table  there's little chance for him to use one as a weapon. 

It doesn’t pass my notice that Duke  Weaselton is sitting as far away from his lawyer  as he can get.

“ Ahh, excellent Officer Hopps. I've been waiting for you.” Her eyes glance my way and tighten ever so slightly, as if  she's just  seen something repugnant. Her claws make an almost audible click as  they retract back into her paw.

Judy looks up at me then glances over to the corner by the door. The  meaning is not lost on me; beside the door  I'll have a clear line of sight between Judy, the feline, and  Weaselton . 

“ I’m sorry if we kept you waiting Miss … ?” Judy starts as she walks over and hops up onto the chair with her back toward the two way mirror. 

“ Swiftpaw.” The smile on her face almost looks genuine. “Before we begin allow me to ask one question.”

“ Ok, by all means,” Judy  says as  she places her folder of  completed  paperwork in front of her on the table. 

“ Is there any reason The Ranch  can't open tonight?” 

“ Mr.  Weaselton is being charged with  a  multitude of  felonies …”

“ Yes, yes unfortunate that, but I was hired to ensure that the club stays open by Mr.  Weaselton' s…”  her eyes  shoot over to Duke, who  swallows nervously, “ … business partner; is there any reason that the club cannot open tonight, provided we get the repairs completed?” 

“ That would be a question for  Code Enforcement …” Judy answers, her ears remaining ramrod straight. Miss Swiftpaw's tail flicks side to side in annoyance. 

“ Excellent!” She opens her briefcase and tosses her nail file back inside while pulling out a sheet of paper. She hands it over to Judy and places a copy in front of  Weaselton as well. “This is my motion to terminate my services to Mr. Weaselton effective immediately, already approved and signed by Judge Hooftorn. He will need a public defender.”

“ But… but…”  Weaselton stammers as Judy looks over the paperwork. “But Sammy, wait!” 

Miss Swiftpaw  slams her right paw down with in an inch of Duke's, her claws extended. “Listen to me you little cretin, don't you ' But Sammy' me. You were told not to call me unless it was tied directly to the club; since your extracurriculars got you into whatever mess  you're in they can get you out.”

Her paw goes to her brief case as she turns to look at Judy, whose eyes  dart between the two. “ I believe everything's in order Officer Hopps.”

Judy nods as she turns to look at Weaselton. I watch Miss Swiftpaw as she leaves the interview room and pulls her cell phone out of the inner pocket of her jacket. 

Dukes eyes shot  from Judy, to me,  and then to the one inch thick folder on the desk in front of her.

Judy stares at the door for a second before  slowly turning to face Weaselton once again. The smile that crosses her muzzle can only be described as predatory.  Weaselton swallows audibly;  he must've noticed it as well. 

“ I think…”  Weaselton starts, only to be  interrupted . 

“ You should probably listen to what I have to say,” Judy says calmly as she flips open her folder. “You have been one bad weasel.” 

“ You don’t know the half of it,  Toots .”

“ Probably  not, ” Judy  admits as she  slides over a two page document. “Here is your list of charges. I took the liberty of highlighting my personal favorites for you.”

“ You know, small things,” Judy continues. “Like felony robbery, possession of stolen property, dealing in stolen property,  etc. .”

“ Heh,” Weaselton scoffs. “Listen rabbit…”

“ No, you need to listen very carefully Mr. Weaselton.” Judy leans forward across the table. “You know magic exists, I know magic exists, my partner over there is a real life wizard.” She points her thumb over at me . 

“ You lost yer mind Flopsy,”  Weaselton scoffs as he pushes the paper back across to her. “You listen; I want my … ”

I roll my eyes and snap  the fingers of my right paw.  T here's a sudden foosh of sound and a small flame ignites the corner of the papers in his paws. Duke lets out a startled yelp, dropping them onto the table. A second snap of my fingers is all it takes to extinguish the flame. 

“ Now that  we're on the same page … ” Judy  says pulling his attention back to her and I extinguish the flame. “You see the DA is trying really hard to keep...”  she trails off for a moment and waves a paw between Duke and I. “ … crimes involving magic out the media. I mean, can you imagine the mass hysteria that would cause?"

“ Yeah, and how does that help me?” 

“ Well you see, I know you didn’t  make the talisman. Nick knows you didn’t make the talisman. My boss knows you didn’t make the talisman…”

“ What do you want me to do? Snitch?” Duke asks incredulously. “Do you have any idea what he would do to me?”

“ I've heard of some three letter agencies taking a notice in your case.” Judy shrugs. “Do you have any idea where  they'll put you?  It won't matter to the feds if you, you know, just happen to be the fall guy here.”

Duke tries to lean back but the short chain on his pawcuffs keep him from going very far. I smirk; when you can't even cross your arms, any chance of putting on a tough guy attitude is pretty much lost Actually, the more I look at him the more I see the fine line Judy is dancing around. She’s using just enough fear and terror to keep him off balance while slowly layering more on. To say I’m impressed is an understatement of epic proportions. If she'd had that spark of whatever it is that allows some mammals to wield magic, then she would have made a fantastic wizard. Her keen mind would have made her a powerful one.

“ Fine…” Duke says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I suppose you have an offer I cannot refuse?” 

“ I suppose you could say that.” Judy shrugs. “You stole from a bunch of really wealthy and powerful mammal s, Duke. But I probably don’t have to tell you that.  Though if you turn over your accomplices so we can put this to bed, the DA might be grateful.”

“ How grateful?” 

“ Considering we have enough evidence to put you away for 50 years?” She pauses for a moment, letting the question linger before  sighing . “Jail time was never out of the question for this; I'm sure you understand that better than most.”

Duke nods. “Yeah yeah Toots, I know how this goes down.”

“ If you help us with this the DA might consider reduced sentencing with the possibility of early parole.” She clasps her paws together on the table. “It honestly does depend on how helpful you end up being.” 

“That's a lot of mights and maybes here Toots.” Duke leans forward. “Listen, I was already offered the one thing that I couldn’t refuse.” He shrugs and doesn't even look unabashed. “Massive piles of money. So if ya want me to snitch then ya need to do a lot better than maybe and might.”

Judy’s eyes harden as the fur at the edges crinkle ever so slightly; Duke's eyes become half lidded with a smug content smile crossing his muzzle. 

“ Fine,”  she says after a few moments. “ This is the only deal I am allowed to offer, and it's take it or leave it. You plead no contest to charges of grand larceny,  with  no mention of magic or you walking into and out of a bank vault, keeping your sorry tail out of the clutches of higher authority. Instead of serving your sentence in someplace like San Siberia we send you to Outback Island, where after  three to  five years you become eligible for parole.”

“ And the alternative?” 

“ We send you to San Siberia while waiting for the feds to decide  what they want to do with you.” She shrugs. “ After that  you'll probably be,  I don’t know, taken someplace off shore, who knows.” 

I almost feel sorry for the guy as I watch the last of his  bravado melt from his frame. It’s a lot like watching hope die; I think  he'd actually believed that  he'd be walking out of here today. He looks down at his paws as he starts talking.

“ I was approached by this snobbish tiger a couple months back. He said he had an easy way for me and a couple of friends to make some easy money.”

“ How many are involved?”

“ Two others besides me and the tiger.” He sighs wearily. “I got my cousin Jerry and a  raccoon that he knew. Crazy guy that goes by the name of Rocket;  haven't seen him in a few days so good luck finding him.” He just shakes his head. “Anyway, I get my crew together and the  tiger has us meet him in this old tailor shop down on lower 43rd near the docks in the old Happy Town district.” 

“ We'll need an address later; please continue.”

“ Anyway we go down there to meet him. He's a real  piece of  work, talks down to us not because  we're smaller than  him, but because he thinks  he's smarter than we are. He gives us these….”

“ Talismans?” I supply.

“ Yeah that's the word he used. He gives us those and tells us how to use them and to get used to them and come back the next day and he'll have an opportunity for us.” Duke leans forward his eyes darting from Judy to me. “I honestly thought the guy was full of scat, ya know? Make us invisible not just to mammals but to the cameras as well? But holy fuck they worked.” Duke just shakes his head. “Anyway, we come back the next night and he tells us where to find some coins, that  he's looking for certain ones and to only take what he tells us.”

“ It was easy; walk into the place, take the coins, and walk out.” Duke shrugs. “Jerry was the look out, Rocket popped the cases, and I took what was needed.” 

“ And the name of the  tiger that you were working for?” Judy asks.

“ Sir Can or something like that.”

“ Shere Khan?” Judy asks. 

“ Yeah that's what I said, Sir Can.” 

“ Can you identify him on this page?” She pulls out a paper from her folder and slides it across to him. 

Duke studies it for a moment before  tapping on a picture. “This  is him,  I'd recognize that stick up his ass look from anywhere.” 

“ Good, thank you.” Judy pulls another page out of her folder. “Now we need this in writing…”

“ Yeah yeah, I know how this works, this isn't my first rodeo Officer Flopsy.” Duke takes the page. “Can I have a pen?” 

Sometime later I'm walking out of the interview room at Judy’s side. Watching Duke write out his statement was a bit anticlimactic. It doesn't surprise me that in a contest of  wills Duke lost. She is a force of nature with a titanic drive to achieve her goals that cannot be stopped. It was just unfortunate for Duke that he happened to be a means to achieve a goal. Thankfully for me she is also equally as loyal. I shudder at the thought of what she could accomplish if she wasn’t.  If I traced Judy’s ancestry back far enough  I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that  she's a direct descendant of the Rabbit of Caerbannog. 

“ So tell me Fluff, just what three letter agencies are interested in Duke?” 

“Oh that?” she says as she looks up at me. “Well, the ZPD is a three letter agency.” 

We pause for a moment in the hallway outside of the interview room as I look down at her. I slowly start to shake my head at the realization of the magnitude of the hustle she' d just pulled on  Weaselton . “Sly bunny.” 

She studies me for a moment. “What? You don’t think that  I'd let some mysterious agency run off with you do  you ?” 

“ The thought might have crossed my mind.”

“ Dumb fox.” She grins up at me for a moment before turning and starting to walk away. “If anyone is going to run off with you it'll be me. Now come on, let's go talk to the Chief.” 

I stare dumbfounded at her frank admission for a moment before shrugging and following her up to the stairs. I cant help the dumb smile that  crosses my face as we walk toward Buffalo Butt’s office It’s almost  scary to me the changes that have happened in my life over the last few months. I was alone and now I'm not. Whichever deity had their paws in Judy and I meeting and coming to an understanding of one  another will always have my thanks. 

Bogo’s mood seems as dour as  ever as we step into his office. I'm not  really  sure why I'm here other than Judy  insisting that I come with her.  S he understands  the nuts and bolts of police work far better than I ever will.  After all, she has dedicated her life to making the world a better place. I on the other paw have more or less lived my life day to day, just trying to get by. Well, that and the whole pursuit of arcane knowledge thing. 

“ Hopps what have you got for me?”  the Cape  buffalo rumbles almost as soon as the door is closed. 

“ Weaselton sang as expected. He said that the talismans came from  Shere Khan and that Khan hired him and two others to perform a series of heists.” She taps the folder in her paw. “I have his written statement and will  be getting it scanned into the system after  we're done here.”

“ How big of a threat will Khan be?”

I shrug. “When we met with him, I didn’t feel any real power coming off of him. But still there was something off  about him; more than likely  he's the tailsmancer that made the amulet that let  Weaselton walk into a bank.”

“ Nick if something was off why didn’t you say anything before?” Judy asks. 

“ Because we're all allowed our secrets. Besides, he could have been just an elf or another of the faye trying to earn a living and  doing nothing wrong.”

“ Be that  as it may, what can you tell us about  talismancers ?” Bogo asks, his gruff voice sounding more than mildly annoyed.

“ Talismancers as a whole have just enough power to make magical items and to know they will never be able to do more than that. While they fulfill a useful role in the magical community they are often looked down on. Directly Khan should pose no real magical threat; but indirectly, depending on what he's made and how well he's planned ahead, he could be very dangerous.” I take a deep breath. I was about to ask about holding him but catch a subtle shake of Judy’s head out of the corner of my eye and decide against it. 

Bogo snorts, then his gaze shifts over to Judy. “I take it Weaselton took the deal you worked out with DA Fisher?” 

She nods. “He did.”

Bogo pushed his reading glasses up his muzzle. “Hopps,  you're going to need to make child care arrangements for your kit as soon as you get me  Weaselton' s statement. I want Khan taken off the streets tonight, before he has a chance to flee the city.” He pauses for a moment as he considers something. “Unfortunately it will take some time to get a warrant for  Shere Khan’s arrest; make your arrangements and be back here no later than 1900.”

“ Yes  sir, ” Judy  says as I nod my agreement.

“ Dismissed.” 

I eye the  Cape buffalo for a moment before following Judy out of his office. She looks up at me briefly as we walk down the hall.

“ Why don't you stay in the lobby while I get this sent up to the Chief?”  she asks as we enter the stair well.

“ You sure?”

“ Yeah, I can get it done faster if my computer doesn't lock up and then we can get some dinner with Cotton before we drop her off at  Olivia's .”

“ When you put it that way Fluff I guess I can wait.” I put a fake put out tone in voice as my tail wags just a bit.

“ Faker. I know  you're looking forward to spending time with your number one fan.” She grins warmly at me. “I promise I won't be long.”

I stand for a moment at the ground floor landing watching her go. She must have felt my eyes on her, as she gives me a coy smile that lights up her eyes before disappearing down the steps. 

A grin seeps across my muzzle as I pull open the door and step out onto the ground floor. It's quiet, or about as quiet as a police station ever really is. Phones still ring in the background and the typing of keyboards can be heard. Most of the  officers have shared cubicles on the ground floor to get paperwork done. Some are occupied, most are empty  due to their occupants  being out on patrol. I'm drawn through the area to the main atrium, where there are less computers and mammals work for me to disturb. 

“ You are one hot dancer Benjamin Clawhauser,” I hear a robotic female voice say over some  fast paced techno garbage music. I roll my eyes as I walk over to the windows and watch the traffic go by.

“ Nick! Nick! Nick!” I look around in confusion, hearing my name rapid fire called out to me. I look around and see Clawhauser waving at me. 

“ Hey Spots, what's up?” I ask, walking up to the reception desk.

“ Have you heard the new song by the greatest singer of all time? The angel with horns, Gazelle?” 

“ I can’t say that I have.” I grin as Ben’s eyes widen with shock. 

“ Really? But Judy is such a fan.  Though not nearly as big as me or Chief Bogo.” He glances around. “But don’t tell anyone I said that ok?” 

I chuckle softly and just shake my head. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“ Well, let's  see about fixing your musical  ignorance …” He start s poking at his phone with a pudgy finger. “Really?  It crashed?”

Shrugging and trying not to grin too much. “Yeah sorry about that, electronics don't fare well around me.”

“ So how does Judy live without being able to use her phone?” He looks around. “I mean, you guys are roommates. The only reason I know is because I file most of Chief Bogo’s paperwork.”

“ I dunno how she does it. I never understood the lure of those things anyway; we spend most evenings playing board games or reading books.”

“ That sounds….  nice actually.” 

I can't help the content smile that crosses my face. “Yeah it is…”

“ So what's it like?”

“ What's what like?”

“ Having rabbits as roommates.” He shrugs and starts gesturing with his paws. “I mean think about it, was it a little weird to suddenly have a rabbit and her kid as your roommate? And you opened your home to her so there has to be something there.” 

“ I haven't really given it much thought.” I smile as thoughts of both Judy and Cotton filter through. “But it's almost like  they've always been there, and  they've made it so effortlessly simple that I can't imagine them not being there.”

“ So from the sounds of it there must be something going on between you two right?” He shrugs. “I mean you just don’t let  someone into your den and there not be, right?”

I catch movement from the corner of my eye and see Judy exiting the elevator. “Maybe,” I admit. “But if there was, mind you I'm not saying there is, but if there was something between us then it wouldn't be something I bragged about or even shared before she was ready. I’m not so far disconnected that I don't know how other mammals would view us. She's a rabbit and I'm a fox and the last thing I want is for any sort of backlash to land on her for being with me.” I eye Ben for a moment. “Especially here, where  she's worked so hard to get where she is.” 

Ben grins at me. “I  think that ye doth  protest too much.”

I shrug as I walk toward Judy. I can feel Ben's eyes on us. “See ya guys; don't do anything that I wouldn't do.” He waves as he settles back into his desk. 

“ What's that about?”  she asks me as we approach the front door.

“ Just the rumor mill fishing for information.”

She groans and looks back at Ben before exiting the building. “Well it really was only a matter of time before it got out.”

“ Well I didn’t confirm anything.”

“ At this point I don't think you need to. Our registered home addresses match. Cotton’s home address matches and  you're listed as a trusted adult to pick her up.” Judy shrugs as we walk down the stairs to the street level. “ At least there are no rules about us dating. I mean it would be a totally different situation if we were both cops, but you're a consultant.”

“ So  we're in the clear then?” 

Judy shrugs as we head down the street. “Bogo would probably say something along the lines of…” She clears her throat and deepens her voice. “'Keep the PDA out of my  precinct; otherwise I don't care.'” 

“ Makes sense with a professional environment and all.” 

“ And, well, I really don't want to get caught in the rumor mill.” She shudders slightly. “Reminds me of home; no one and I mean no one out gossips a rabbit warren.”

“ Oh?” I look down at her, surprised.

She just sighs and shakes her head. “I made the mistake of letting one of my sisters know that there was a buck I liked in  junior high .”

“ I take it that didn’t go well.”

“ Rabbit warrens...have thin walls, especially kit rooms; one of my brothers or sisters overheard and the buck knew before school even started the next day.”

The anguish on her face  tells the rest of the story. “I’m sorry.”

Her face softens as she looks up at me. “So, ummm,, have any plans for this weekend?”

I grin down at her. “I dunno Officer Hopps I’ll have to ask my girlfriend; do I have plans for this weekend?” 

She shakes her head slightly, but breaks out in a grin of her own. “Silly fox. I found a place in the  Meadowlands . It's close enough to downtown that our commute wouldn't be too bad and Cotton can stay in the same school.” 

“ Oh, so would you like me to join you in looking at the place, or do you need me on  kit watching duty?” 

She nods. “It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but this is more of a seller's market compared to when I bought my place a few years ago. My insurance settlement will cover most of it but…” She shrugs. “ I'd really like you to go with us to look at it.”

I smile down at her. “Well it just so happens that I am free this weekend so I would love to go look at a house with you.”

“ Good.”

“ Is it a nice house?”

“ It's a pretty large step up from your place.” 

If I'm being honest here that wouldn't take much, but still it's my place and I must defend it. “Hey, I’ll have you know…”

“ Nick your place has exposed plumbing in the ceiling.” She grins up at me. “But I will admit it has a sort of rustic charm to it.”

I can't help but smile at her. “Well that 'rustic charm' as you put it kept us warm.” 

“ That it did Slick.” 

We make good time the rest of the way to HEC with light banter between us about the rusticness of my home. But  I can't say I blame her any; at some point the place might have been considered nice but now?  I'm excited to see what  she's found, but  this also puts added pressure on the training that I have to do. 


	7. Chapter 6

#  Chapter 6

  


“ MR. NICK!” Cotton yells as she bolts across the classroom. I barely have enough time to prepare to catch her before she leaps into my arms. 

I let out a light ‘oof’  as the bunny projectile collides with my chest and I wrap my arms around her. It's kinda our thing; she leaps I catch. The amount of trust in that simple leap of absolute faith is astounding. It also keeps me on my toes. I'd rather chop off my own tail that miss that catch. 

Cotton wraps her arms around my neck  and hugs me tight before looking down at her mother. “Hi  Mom .”

“Oh I see, Nick gets projectile hugged and all I get is a 'Hi Mom,” Judy sniffs as she looks away. “One story and I'm replaced.” 

I sit Cotton down and she hugs her mother tightly. “Love you  Mom .”

Judy wraps her arms around Cotton for a moment. “I love you too sweetie. Go get your bag; we're going out for dinner tonight and then you're going to spend the night at Aunt Olivia's.”

“ But Mooooommmmmm…” Cotton whines. 

“ I know you don’t like staying there but Nick and I have to work late tonight.” Judy sighs, “ I'll tell you what,  if you're good for Aunt Olivia  then we'll do something fun this weekend.”

“ Mr. Nick  too ?” 

“ Of course Cotton  Ball , I wouldn't want to miss out on spending time with my two favorite ladies.” Judy’s smile is every bit as bright as that of her daughter's. Smiles like that have a magic all their own and it warms me in a way that I  can't quite explain.

“ Yay!” Cotton shouts as she skips off to get her back pack.

Leaving HEC I feel … well I'm not sure really. It's an odd mixture of different emotions that I  haven't felt in some time, if ever really. Cotton has her paw wrapped around the forefinger of my left paw while Judy flanks me on the right. It's amazing to me how some mammals come into your life and suddenly your priorities change. Maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised by it but still I am. One moment you're worried about research projects and keeping food in the icebox, and the next you're more concerned about kit pick up times and outings to the park.

“ Where would you guys like to go eat? And no Cotton we are not stopping at Old McDonald's .” Judy’s voice pulls  me from my brooding. 

“ Aww …” 

I can already feel her gearing up to using her big doe eyes on me and wisely decide against looking down at her. I may be a strong willed fox but  there's only so much I can do against that amount of raw cuteness.  It's a power I hope she learns to use responsibly. “Sorry Cotton Ball, I'm not really feeling up to fast food myself since I have to keep up with your mom.” 

“ So since fast food is out of the picture how about that little corner cafe?”

“ The salad place?” 

Judy nods. “If you don't mind?”

I shrug. “Sure.” 

A short while later we walk into the small corner cafe and take a seat at one of the booths. Cotton sits next to me near the window, coloring on one of child menus that also double s as a coloring sheet. Judy sits across from me looking at her menu.

Looking over the menu this is one of the few times that I'm glad I'm an omnivore. While a salad may not be my first choice of food I can at least eat it, unlike some of the more strictly carnivore predators of the world. 

Dinner itself is much the way you would expect a salad to go. Bland, but the company more than  makes up for it. The dinner conversation is kept light, with Cotton mostly telling us about her day at school. She's come a long way since only answering the question of how was school today with  with a simple "Good." We  aren't even bothered during dinner;  this likely has more to do with Judy sitting there in her police uniform than anything else though. It isn’t lost on me, the looks we get from some of the other patrons, but if Judy isn't bothered by it then why should I?

Forty  minutes or so later  we're walking down the street with Cotton between Judy and I holding both of our paws. There is a happy smile on my muzzle, one that I'm sure if I was to look would be shared by Judy. But I don’t need to look to know, as Cotton’s energy is just that infectious. Honestly it's impossible not to smile with that kit around. 

“ Momma, why do you and Mr. Nick have to work late tonight?” The energy the young rabbit gives off changes so suddenly  it's like flicking off a light switch. I look down as Cotton looks up at her mother, her ears back and a look of uncertainty on her face.

“ We have to arrest a bad guy tonight,” Judy explains. “ Since Mr. Nick is my partner I need him to watch my back.” 

Cotton squeezes my finger tightly and I wrap my paw around hers as best as I  can . She's uncharacteristically quiet, something that worries me more than a little bit. Typically the little bunny is talking a mile a minute,  but tonight she's more subdued. 

“ Momma, is the bad guy dangerous?” Cotton asks as the elevator doors open on  Olivia's floor.

“ He could be,” Judy answers as we walk down the hall. “But that's why I have a partner like Mr. Nick, and I'm sure that Chief Bogo isn't going to send us alone.  We'll be ok Cotton.”

“ Promise?” 

Judy kneels down outside of  Olivia's door and hugs her daughter. “I promise Cotton, we will come home;  in fact, I'm sure Nick and I can pick you up for school in the morning.” 

Cotton wraps her arms around Judy’s neck. “'Kay… I love you  Mom .” 

“ I love you too.” 

Cotton turns and looks up at me expectantly. Her big glossy brown eyes  speak volumes . 

It’s at this moment that I realize that I don’t need any magically created drugs to inspire me to do great and terrible things. That I don’t need financial incentive either. It’s those eyes. While it may be Judy’s belief in me that makes me actually give a damn about the rest of the world, it's Cotton's eyes and the way she looks up at me like I’m a hero out of an epic story that would drive me to do those things. I thank any of the gods that would care to listen that she hasn’t harnessed the power that she wields.

I kneel and gather both Cotton and Judy up in my arms. I can feel Judy tense just a bit before relaxing and joining in the group hug.

“ I promise that I will do anything in my power to make sure your mom and I  are able  come get you.”

“ I love you Mr. Nick.”

“ I love you too.”

We are given a few moments before  Olivia's door is opened. But in those few moments a feeling settles, one that  was previously nebulous but  has now solidified . 

It scares me.

“ Good evening.” Thankfully I’m pulled from my thoughts by Fifi. I open my eyes and glace up at Fifi. Seeing no  judgment on her face I give the rabbits one last squeeze before  starting to pull away. Cotton,  however, maintains a death grip on the fur at the back of my neck. 

“ Whats wrong Cotton  Ball ?” I ask softly.

“ I dunna want you to go…”

“ I don't want to either,” I tell her softly. “I want nothing more than to go home, curl up in front of the fire, and play a game or read a book with you and your mom. But the city needs my help just like you did, remember?” 

I smile slightly at the feel of her nod against the side of my neck. 

“ Remember my promise Cotton; your mom and I will come home.” 

“' Kay.” 

When I move to stand up the little bunny  doesn't stop me  this time. 

“ Cotton,  Olivia is waiting in the sitting room; she  thought maybe we could rent Floatzen or some other movie,” Fifi  tells her kindly. “Would you two like to come in for a coffee or something?”

“ I don’t think we have time,” Judy answers before I can say anything. “Please thank  Olivia for watching her tonight. Come on Slick, let's go get the bad guy.”

I stand and ruffle the fur between Cotton's ears before following Judy down the hall. I try to keep my mind clear as we enter the elevator. I’ve been doing that a lot lately; there are too many things that I need to give some thought to but don't want to. Most if not all of them revolve around rabbits, or a singular rabbit. My eyes drift over to her reflection in the doors for a moment. 

Her nose wiggles just a bit and her eyes have a far away look. I can tell she's turning something over in her head, but  whether it's about arresting Khan or something else I cannot tell. I try to get my mind off of my personal life and onto the matter at paw, or the matter that's about to be at paw. 

Magic users can be extremely dangerous given the right situation. We have to be meticulous planners. Ordinarily I'd be more than certain that my new shield bracelet would be able to protect us from whatever could be thrown at us. But given that Khan is not directly a magic user, I'm not sure what he is capable of. On one paw he made amulets that rendered the wearer invisible not only to mammals but also to cameras. That's quite the feat. On the other paw, he did hire the likes of Weasleton. 

“ You're brooding.” Judy pulls me out of my thoughts as we exit the building.

“ I think the same could have been said about you.”

Judy glances up at me. “I’m not a wizard so I don't brood.”

“ What do you call it then?”

“ Lost in thought.”

“ I see; and just what thoughts were you lost in?” 

“ Nothing much…”  she deflects, but the sudden blush that I could see rising in her inner ears before she lowered them down her back spoke more than her words. I wonder if she's having the same thoughts that I'm not wanting to think about at the moment.

“ How about you?” 

“ Ummm, just wondering who Buffalo Butt will send with us.”

“ Heh…” I can feel her tense beside me. “Nick, after we get this done I think we need to have a talk. Just you and me.” 

My ears flatten against my skull and I swallow nervously. “Ok Fluff.”

You don't need to have had much relationship experience to know when your girlfriend says we need to have a talk it probably isn’t going to be a good talk. But on the other paw we are supposed to look at a house this weekend, so unless  that's changed…

“ Hey Carrots?” I try to keep some of the trepidation out of my voice.

“ Yeah?”

“ Are we still looking at that place this weekend?” 

“ Yeah. ” She looks up at me for a moment. “Unless you're trying to back out?”

Her answer relieves me considerably as I smile down at her. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

Some time later I'm riding with Judy through the darkened streets of the city. Rush hour  is long over as we follow the highway from the city center toward the  Rainforest District where Khan’s house is. The briefing given to us by Chief Bogo could be easily summed up into " Be careful and watch each other's backs." Judy was right;  we're not going into this alone. Officers Fangmeyer and Wolford, both back from medical leave, have been assigned to assist Fluff and I in this arrest. 

I shift in my seat, trying to adjust to the weight of the bulletproof vest. I hate wearing this thing, but I understand the mindset of having it and not needing it vs needing it and not having it.

The  changing of the passing  cityscape is interesting to watch as we travel along the highway system. Heading out of the city center we head north toward the Meadow Lands before the road turns toward the coast. Towering skyscrapers giving way to open grassland picketed by small clusters of single family homes only to give way to apartment blocks and shopping centers, all before we go through a tunnel in the weather wall and enter the towering trees of the  Rainforest District. 

Some of the trees are natural, some are mammal made;  it's hard to tell which is which  from the car. Broad leaves and vines act as rain gutters for the levels over our head. We cross  some of  the many bridges that make up the  district's famous sky way. The large swath of vertical space then cuts through the heart of the district, acting as a three dimensional canal.

Through it all a light pattering of rain or mist constantly pelts against the windshield and make the guard rails that appear on either side of the road very needed. 

The house we pull up to is mid way up a terrace overlooking the bay farther south of us. Built on a platform between two large branches of a massive tree the house looms over us. The house itself is an interesting mix of wood, metal, and glass. The architecture looks like it would be more comfortable closer to the hustle and bustle of the city,  yet the carefully carved and selected wood makes it fit in. The electric lights that blaze in the dark cause me to frown.

I whistle as we take it in. “Wow, we could probably never afford a place like this, eh Carrots? I mean even at a civil forfeiture auction this place would cost a fortune.”

Unbuckling my seat belt I pop the passenger side door and slide out of the cruiser only to reach back in and grab my staff. Standing outside the cruiser I close my eyes and take a deep breath. There isn't the faint hint of ozone that is normally associated with the residences of magic users, especially the house of one that would be as full of electronics as this one. Surely even that slightest bit of magic would cause havoc with modern technology?

I open my eyes and with them my third eye and wizard sight. I frown  in disappointment .  While the building that houses our apartment has been made nearly indestructible thanks to all the wards that I have put on it, Khan's house has….  nothing . Not a single ward, and when I mean not a single ward I mean just that. His house is mundane, dare I say normal, at least in the magical sense. 

“ Nick?” Judy asks as I  turn off my wizard sight . 

“ It's not warded,” I answer, hearing paw falls approaching us from my right.

“ Ok Hopps how do you two want to do this?” I look up at Fangmeyer and study her for a moment. Gone is the suspicion of me; in its place is a look of respect. 

“ Nick says the place isn’t warded so it should be like serving any other warrant.” 

“ Ok standard ZPD doctrine then,” Fangmeyer says as she eyes the house. “Hopps , you and Wilde follow us in. If any of you notice anything strange let us know, but hopefully Khan answers the door and makes this simple.”

I glance down at Judy, who just shrugs as we follow the larger two officers toward the front door. 

“ Are you sure he's even home?” 

“ His car is in the drive. We ran the plates before we even got out of our cruiser,” Wolford  says, motioning over to the fancy Lexus in the drive way.

“ You can do that?” 

“ Typically police cruisers have computers in them that allow for that sort of thing.” Judy explains. “But since it would be on the passenger side of the car…”

“ Oh.” My ears perk up at the rumbling chuckle from both officers in front of us. “Hey what do you call a three humped camel?”

“ Now is not the time, Slick…” Judy  says warningly, and my ears slowly fold back against my skull with the seriousness in her voice.

“ Ohhh, wiped by the  bunny, ” Wolford says as Fangmeyer rings the doorbell. 

“ Can it  Wolford,” Fangmeyer all but growls,  shooting her partner a withering glare.

I smirk up at Wolford,  whose own ears  are now plastered against his skull as he looks away slightly, only to be smacked in the arm by Judy. Rubbing my arm and  I turn my attention back down to her. Her no nonsense expression curbs  any potential response . 

Fangmeyer rings the doorbell one more time before pounding on the door and calling out. “Police open up!” She waits a few moments before pounding on the door again. “ Looks like we're going to have to go in and get him.”

“ His file didn’t say anything about any weapons…” Judy says, looking up at the other two officers before glancing at me. “That doesn’t mean he doesn't have other surprises waiting for us.” 

“ He's still a near 500 pound tiger,” Fangmeyer says as she eyes the door and sighs. “I was hoping that we could do this the easy way.”

“ So we send them around the back?” Wolfard asks. 

Fangmeyer shakes her head. “If they were both cops, maybe. But since Wilde isn't I don't think that's a good idea. We'll all go in through the front door.”

I eye the door for a moment. “I can blow the door.” 

“ That won't be necessary.” Fangmeyer turns from the door and looks down at Judy and  me . “Wolford and I will go in first. Hopps, you and Wilde follow us in  with  weapons drawn.” 

I nod and take a couple of steps back away from the front door,  leaning against my staff. I watch as the three officers pull out their weapons. Judy gives me  an expectant look;  what do they expect me to do, cock my staff like  it's a shotgun? 

I’m fairly certain  that  I'm unneeded at this point, and while a certain part of me is hesitant  about letting my girlfriend go before me, I also know she would be very angry with me if I didn't. After all,  she's trained for this and  I'm just a civilian. Granted one with magical powers, but a civilian nonetheless. Fangmeyer stands at the foot of the stairs and her weapon is pointed up them.  Wolford is in the middle of the living area and his weapon is leveled at the landing that runs the breadth of the home. I can see him glance toward the kitchen area where I assume Judy has moved on to cover.

The speed at which everything happens is amazing, from the moment that Fangmeyer rears back and delivers a wood splintering blow with her right foot to the three of them moving inside. 

I move up the sidewalk and back onto the front porch. The house opens up into a fairly modern open space floor plan,  at  least I think  it's open floor. It reminds me of  Olivia's home, just not as rich. 

I move into the house but stay behind and to the right of Fangmeyer, just enough into her field of view that she can account for me.  I t's only when I move into the house that I get a queasiness in my stomach, like that feeling you get just before you throw up something that you know is going to be  particularly nasty on the way back up. I try to put it out of my mind; perhaps the salad I had for dinner doesn’t quite agree with me. 

The living area is well appointed. A very thin flat screen  TV hangs on one wall with an assortment of boxes and  such on a shelf underneath it. The couch, loveseat, and armchair are arranged in a horseshoe shape in front of it. 

I catch movement as something comes sailing over the landing’s railing. I move almost on instinct; my paws  are  moving even before  I've fully registered the object, and I'm feeding power into my shield bracelet and throwing a shield over Fangmeyer, Wolford, and myself.

A silver object collides with my shield and instantly silvery spiderwebs form across it. I frown and try to collapse my shield before the webs fully engulf it but I cannot. I can still feel the subtle draw of power from it but I'm unable to do anything about it. 

“ Ohhh, isn’t this grand?”  a smooth baritone voice  purrs above us. “Look what  I've caught in my little web. Not one, but three jucy little flies all ripe for the picking.” 

“ Freeze!” Fangmeyer shouts,  followed quickly by “ You're under arrest!”  from Wolford. 

Khan grins smugly as he stands over us . “Correction, two flies and  a parasite .  It's unfortunate that you two officers have to witness this.”

“ Witness what?” I ask.

“ Why, your death....” Khan's lips curl back in  a  sneer . “Wizard.” The word falls from his mouth as if he's spitting out something particularly vile . “ What a pity that your plaything isn't here to witness it.”

We study each other as my left paw tightens around my staff. “But perhaps she can be the first to kneel once I get what I seek.”

The image of Judy kneeling before Khan snakes its way into my head. It angers me, the sight of an indomitable spirit cowed and broken before him. I can feel the flames starting to lick around my right paw and pour more power into them, forgetting the web that's currently wrapped around my shield. 

I thrust my right paw forward with a shout of “Fuego!” But instead of the expected gout of flame, the fire peters out and instead I’m brought to my knees by an  incredible amount of pain. 

I scream as the pain lances through my body. The pain is near indescribable;  it feels like the spell has turned every follicle of my fur into a white hot searing poker and jammed it back into my skin. Like being set ablaze and frozen at the same time. I cast a shield to try to stop it but the relief  can only be measured in milliseconds before the pain  descends upon me once again.

“ NICK!” I'm not sure who screams it. It could have been Fangmeyer, Wolford, or Judy or perhaps all three. It's hard to tell as my  ears are suddenly ringing like  I'm sitting in the center of a bomb blast.

I can see the worry and concern in Judy’s eyes just before something else catches her attention and she turns away from me. My vision starts to tunnel white as I watch her square off against Khan. 

“ Oh God's son I wish your mother was here to share this with us.” My vision clears at the sound of my father's voice. 

The  Brazilian Steakhouse was the suggestion of the casino owner that  Dad had signed a contract with earlier that afternoon. The smells of grilled steak, chicken, and other delicacies waft around us as the waiters and waitresses walk around with skewers of meat and platters of roasted or steamed vegetables. 

“ It's not nice to stare, son.” My eyes snap to my father and my ears flatten against my skull in a vain attempt at hiding my own embarrassment. The grey fur at his temples gives him a wizened look,  one that he up plays for his stage performances. “Glances are fine but out right  ogling is not ok.”

“ Sorry  Dad .” I take another bite of the roast beast on my plate. I’m so full I feel like I'm going to explode. 

“ It's fine; believe it or not I at one time used to be your age.” My dad smiles at me; the corner of his eyes crinkle ever so slightly,  which does little to hide his mirth at my embarrassment. 

“ Will that be all  sir ?” 

“ Just the bill, thank you Candice.” He  gives the waitress a disarming smile as she  hands him a small black book with the receipt inside. 

“ Wow!”  he exclaims at seeing the bill. “They always said raising a teenage boy would make me destitute but I didn’t think it would be this bad!” 

“ Well  sir, the  second helping of pie you had didn’t help the bill any.” She shoots me a wink when I  lift my eyes to look up at her. 

Dad laughs,; it's jolly and full of life. “I suppose you're right, he's not the only one to blame, but still.” He pulls out his wallet and pulls out some bills, placing them into the booklet before handing it back. “Keep the change Candice and have a good night.” 

“ You too  sir. ” She looks at me and smiles before walking away. My ears lay down flat again as a blush rises up under my fur. 

“ Come on Nicky,” Dad  ssays as he  stands, pulling my attention back to him. “Let's walk; it's only a few blocks to The Palm and maybe the pool will still be open when we get there.” 

I stand and follow him out of the restaurant. The outside air of Savanna Central has cooled quite a bit since we went inside. The city  is  now alight  with bright neon colors that  get washed out by the headlights  of  passing cars. 

“ I still can't believe that  we're staying at a place like  The Palm!” Memories of sleeping in cheap motel rooms with more  nicotine on the walls than a carton of cigarettes passes through my head. 

“ What did I tell you, Nicky?” Dad asks. “Hard work and determination pays off in the long run.”

“ I know  Dad, it's just….” I shrug and stuff my paws in my pockets as we walk down the sidewalk. “I never thought it would happen.”

“ I know what you mean.” We cross a street and walk toward the looming artificial palm tree at the end of  the  wide boulevard. “ You're excited to move to Paws Vegas then?”

I shrug, not really sure how to answer.

“ You need friends Nicky,” Dad  says softly. “This is a good move for us. I know you like the road but… this is a good move trust me.” 

“ If you say so.”

“ Who knows, you might find someone as fluffy as Candice there.” He winks down at me. 

“ Dad….” I groan. I love the guy, but  he's been giving me a hard time  ever  since I started to take even the slightest interest in girls. I glance behind us  and notice a pair of deer who  seem to be ignoring us, looking at something across the street.

I look across the street  at a pair of large mammal sized sedans parked along the street. Not seeing anything of note I turn back to catch up with my father, only he's not there. 

“ Dad!” I yell, and look around. The deer have vanished as well but I put them out of mind as I look up and down the sidewalk, my heart  beginning to race. 

“ Nick….” I hear my name called. It's not my dad's voice but it's  still  familiar somehow. I look back down the street toward the hotel and see an alleyway. Maybe my dad ducked down it to try and scare me. 

I run down the street and blindly round the corner into the alleyway. I run right into the back of one of the deer from before,  knocking the wind out of me as I bounce off him and onto the ground. 

My dad is struggling with one deer on the ground. “Nick … run!” 

I get to my paws and start to back away when the deer  I'd run into  plucks me off of the ground and  holds my back against his chest and my arms to my side in an almost crushing bear hug. 

“ Watch little one….”  the deer says ominously into my ear. “Go on and feed I have what I want….”

“ Nick no!”  the other familiar voice calls again distantly .

I watch helplessly as the deer on the ground  overpowers my dad and sinks his teeth into  his neck .

“ DAD!” I scream my voice breaking at the end.

“ Mmm, yes, watch as he dies…”  the deer hisses into my ear. 

Fear floods through me as my heart races. Yet at the same time I feel as if my toes are hanging out over a vast well spring of power. I can feel it rising slowly up my body as if I would drown in it. 

“ NICK IT'S NOT REAL!”  the voice yells again, closer; it has a very worried tone to it. “PLEASE DON'T! WE PROMISED COTTON THAT  WE'D BOTH COME HOME!”

I pause as sudden images flash in front of me. I can feel the power right at my finger tips. I can burn this wretched thing to a crisp, I know this as intensely as I know my own paw pads. But that voice… Something about it compels me to listen. 

I close my eyes, and when they open I wish I was still in the alleyway. Pain floods my body  and I scream, collapsing to knees. 

“ Nick! Nick, listen to me!” Judy shouts.

“ Heh, that fool is going to die right before your eyes…”

“ SHUT UP!” Judy turns and shouts before turning back to me. “Listen, it's feeding off of your magic; you have to stop it. 

“ They can’t,  it's instinctual to them; the fools don't know the power they wield so it's  all too  easy to use  it  against them…”

“ SHUT UP!” Judy all but screams. “ You can do this, because I believe in you…” 

My eyes refuse to focus anymore though the pain. I try to steady my breathing but  it's impossible; I feel like a TV dinner someone left a fork in and then shoved back into a microwave. Power arcs through the air, striking me at random. I can feel the wellspring of power though; it's been there since the day I saw my father die. I push it down with my will, the arcs of pain  becoming less the more I push it down. 

The spell that I'm trapped in dies as I push that wellspring of power back down underneath my feet. The silence is deafening as I collapse onto the floor. 


	8. Chapter 7

#  Chapter 7

I blink as the pain subsides. I'm facing the front wall looking out over the large floor to ceiling windows. Don't get me wrong it still hurts, hurts like hell, but at least I'm no longer getting microwaved by my own magic. 

“ Nick?” It took a moment or two for the sound of my name to register in my pain addled brain. I don’t know how long that spell lasted in real time, but it felt like hours. 

“ Ahhh, poor fool burnt himself out,”  a smug voice says. “ What a pity; I expected  this confrontation to be more violent.”

I’m slowly becoming more aware of my surroundings. I’m laying pretty haphazardly on the floor. 

“ Nick?” Judy asks again, and I blink my eyes open. Turning my head slightly I can see her out of the corner of my left eye. Worry paints her face as her paws hover just over me. I become more aware not just of my surroundings but of myself. I feel like something is missing, yet  only a breath away. Like I can call it to myself whenever I need it.

“ Hey, Fluff.” My voice feels like  I've spent the last several hours screaming myself raw. 

“Holy crap he's alive.” 

It takes me a moment to untangle myself from myself. Ever have one of those colds where all it does is make your body hurt and you feel like  you've been simultaneously run over by a steam roller and pulled in every direction at once? That's how my body feels. I’m hesitant to call on my magic, as  we're still surrounded by a dome of silver strands. 

There are large gaps between the strands so I assume that is how Judy got inside the dome. 

“ Gods you're beautiful.” The words just tumble out of my mouth as I look up at her. Her ears flop down her back but not before I catch a hint of her blush. 

“ Not to interrupt  your moment, but how do we get out of here? Not all of us are  are small enough to squeeze through the openings,” Fangmeyer rumbles, reminding us that we are not alone. 

“ Aww, why did ya have to do that Nadine?  They were about to kiss…” 

Judy eyes me and slugs me in the shoulder. “Not a  word Slick.”

“ Oww …” Rubbing my shoulder, I start to sit up and truly take stock of the silver web surrounding us. 

“ Are you sure you should be getting up?” Fangmeyer asks. 

I shrug. I feel like  I've been  run through a wringer washing machine several times and  then fried like an egg , but nothing feels broken. “I’m fine,” I answer as I shakily get to my feet and look around for my staff.

“ Here,” Judy says as she paws it over. 

“ Thanks.” I lean a on it bit,  attempting to make it look like I'm not actually doing so . Cracks are starting to form in the web around us. I’m pretty sure if we just wait a few more minutes it will collapse under its own weight.  Not being one to pass up a chance at a flair of dramatics, I tap the head of my staff against a silvery web. It crumbles to dust around us as I close my eyes and reach for my magic.

It comes flooding back to me at my call. My magic embraces me like some long separated lover as I eye the dust. It doesn't respond as I cast my pain shunt spell; I’ll pay for it later, but at least now I can stand a little straighter and not wince everytime I move. 

“ How…” Khan’s voice, which seems to have lost some of its smugness, draws my attention to him. He lies trussed up on his stomach. 

His paws are held behind his back with flexible zip tie cuffs meant for smaller mammals, holding each of  the fingers of his left and right paw together. A smug grin spreads across my face as I notice that even the big toes of his feet are tied together. 

“ You should be dead….”

I eye the trussed up tiger. 

“ And you got beaten by a bunny,” Judy says proudly.

The barking laughter behind me only  causes me to smile. “Yeah, you should have seen it:  Kapow, right in the face, and then she bounced his face off of the floor.”

“ Wolford do we have to have a talk about professionalism again?” Fangmeyer asks. 

“ Uhhh, no  ma'am .”

“ Good; help me secure the prisoner and then we need to call this in.” 

I watch somewhat disinterestedly as Fangmeyer slaps a pair of metal cuffs around Khan's wrists and Wolford cuts the zip ties holding his toes together. The larger two officers each take an arm. 

“ 1, 2, and 3,” Wolford counts before they lift Khan to his feet. 

I turn to Judy as they escort Khan out of the house. She looks up at me as emotions dance in her eyes. “You ok Fluff?”

“ Are you?” 

I shrug and look away. “I had to cast my pain shunt spell…”

“ Like with Memnoth?”

“ Yeah, just not nearly as bad.”

“ So you won't be out for two days agian?” I can hear the concern in her voice.

“ Should only be a couple of hours at the most.”

“ But if it's not that bad then why cast it?”

“We need to find his lab.”

Judy frowns as she nods. “I didn't see anything other than a small bathroom here on the first floor. But there are a few doors upstairs, and considering this place is built on a giant tree I doubt it has a basement so let's go.”

I grin down at her. “Lead the way, Officer Hopps.” 

The polished wood stairway opens onto Khan's personal library. Frankly I'm impressed. Massive floor to ceiling bookcases are inset into the walls with comfortable couches and chairs arranged about the space.  There's a single opening for a hallway that goes deeper into the house and  a railing for  a landing that allows us to see out of the large floor to ceiling windows  at the front of the house.  The only thing it lacks to be my perfect space is a nice warm fireplace, but that's not really surprising considering the house is in the RFD. Fireplaces  aren't really a thing in the RFD.

I take a moment to steel myself before activating my wizard sight and  scanning over the book cases. Spell books and other arcane tomes will always show up in the magical spectrum. It's a byproduct of being handled by those that are well versed in the arcane arts. Even low level magic users leave an imprint on a tome. I expected something, anything really,  that would indicate which ones were his spell books, or at least a magical trap of some sort. 

I'm not sure if I'm all that surprised when none of the books on the shelf glowed or anything. It would have been far too simple to find Khan's arcane tomes in his library.

“ Anything?” 

“ No…” There  are equal parts disappointment and bewilderment in my voice. “I mean, other than one hell of a nice library  there's nothing magical here. 

“ You should curb your enthusiasm for his library, Slick.” Judy  says as she walks over to one of the bookshelves. She  pulls out a section of books and tosses it to me. 

It takes me longer than I care to admit for my brain to reconcile my expectations with the reality that I hold in my paws. Fakes. Instead of first edition classics by the likes of Hamingway, Pawstin, or Butcher, I hold a carefully crafted prop. 

Judy just shrugs. “I  recognize them because one of my brothers got scammed by a mammal selling these. Looks like the rich just use them to give the illusion of being well read.”

I toss the prop  aside, letting it thunk onto the floor, and give the shelves a forlorn look  before following her down the hall. The first door contained a spare bedroom, the second door another bathroom. 

There is an uncharacteristic chill in the air of the master bedroom that has until this point been absent. It’s faint  though, like the air coming off of  a block of ice from across the room.

I would have been more impressed by the decor of the bedroom if it wasn’t for the fact that Khan had fake books. I mean,  are these even real hardwood floors? 

“ I think the chill gets worse over here by the closet,” Judy says, pulling me out of my thoughts on home decor. 

I join her in front of the large walk-in closet. “ You're right Fluff, the chill is definitely worse here. Judy nods as she steps inside and jumps up  to hit the light switch.

Honestly, calling  this a closet is a massive understatement. This "closet" has to have more square footage than my entire apartment. Fancy suits  hang along one wall, while another is dedicated to more casual wear. 

We walk slowly around the closet, both of us concentrating on  the source of the cold . I catch something out of the corner of my eye, a scratch or something different that the light bounces off of strangely. Pausing I push some clothes hangers out of the way.

“ Find something?” Judy asks as I lift my paw toward the wall and pause. 

Saying it's cold is an understatement. It's bone chilling cold. It's the type of cold that my grandfather has a saying for. 

“ _ It's colder than a  _ _ witch's _ _ titty in a brass bra.” _ His gruff voice comes unbidden to me.

“ Yeah…” I pull my paw away, something warning me against touching the wall. “Give me a second.”

My wizard sight reveals that the entire wall is covered in runes, lots of runes;  there are many that I only have the barest knowledge of, and others I know quite well. The lock is brilliant and terrifying at the same time. It's the kind of runecraft that one does when they really don't want you in  a certain place. In many ways it mirrors what I have on the door of my apartment but better. 

“ Yeah this is definitely the door to his lab.” I deactivate my sight. “I don't think I can open this.”

“ There could be something dangerous in there…” I nod at her simple statement. “Would he have warded all of the walls?”

Quickly thinking back to the outside of the house, I answer, “Doubtful.”

“ I have an idea, stay here.” She quickly adds, “I think the next room over was a bedroom,”  before rushing out of the room. A second later she taps on the wall several feet to my left, almost by the closet door. 

I grin, suddenly realizing what she has in mind. “Do you hear me?” 

“ Yeah!” 

“ Good; ummm, can you knock on the wall where you hear my voice?”

I’m already moving toward the sound of her voice. “Can you say something again?” 

“ I’m over here,” Judy calls out, and I knock on the wall about where I think her voice is coming from.

“ Great!” Judy calls. “Now, is there a lot of distance between where you’re at and where the door is?”

Looking back down  the closet wall I call back. “About 10 feet or so.”

“ Great! Come here.”

It only takes me a few moments before I'm standing at her side once again.  But instead of looking at a closet wall  we're looking at one of the back walls of a bedroom. 

“ Do you think he warded the wall?” Judy asks.

I shrug. “If we knock a hole in the wall so we can see the back side of the wall in the next room I should be able to tell.”

Judy places an ear against the wall and softly knocks against it a few times, moving as she does so. When she finds a spot that she seems satisfied with she steps back and slams her right foot into it, leaving a rabbit foot  size imprint in the drywall. The second kick  creates a small hole  through which she loops her paws and pulls hard . I take a step back as what seems like half of the height and maybe a foot and half wide chunk of the wall comes down in a shower of thick white dust. It instantly sends us both into fits of coughing. 

“ Well?” Judy asks between coughs. 

Opening my third eye while hacking up a lung is its own torture. It takes concentration to open it in the first place. Concentration is hard while fighting for air, but it's doable. 

“ It's clear” I tell her,  not detecting any tell-tale markings of wards on the inner wall. 

She doesn’t even hesitate before launching herself forward and smashing through to the other side, sending a fresh wave of drywall dust descending over us and  causing another round of coughs. I have to duck and tilt my staff a bit, but  I'm able to get into the room beyond through the hole in the wall. The dust in the workshop settles faster than in the bedroom next door for some reason, as our coughing fits end faster than before. 

The room itself is massive, stretching what has to be the entire length of the house. I almost think it's a pocket dimension, but a pocket dimension would have imploded the moment Judy broke through the wall. Display cases line the left hand side of the room  while bookshelves dominate the right; it's  a miracle that Judy got through the wall at all considering how many of them there are.

“ Sweet cheese and crackers…” Judy says softly. “Nick, this has to be larger than your lab at home.”

I just nod as I take a step forward  and start looking over the cases  with my wizard sight. Some of the cases contain some old rusty iron weapons that must be worth a fortune. Others contain rings, amulets, and other things, perhaps the personal objects of wizards long past. They barely even have the minor glow of being magical at all. It’s almost hard to believe this is Khan’s workshop at all. 

My ears perk up slightly at the sound of a thunk, followed by a pause, then another thunk.

“ You hear that?” Judy asks as she moves farther down the row of shelves and display cases. 

“ Fangmeyer or Wolford coming up the stairs?” I ask as I close my eyes to deactivate my wizard sight.

She just shakes her head. “No, it's coming from in here…” 

Thunk, thunk, thunk.

Judy and I look at each other as we step deeper into the room. We pause mid step as a sudden crash of shattering glass and reverberating metal echoes throughout the room. A sound much like a flag flapping in the wind is heard just before Judy dives out of the way. 

“ ACK!” I yell as I drop my staff and try to bat the shadow from my face,  spinning to the right. The shadow spins with me, wrapping itself around my head. It's a lot like being wrapped up in a tangled up bed sheet. I growl at it slightly as I attempt to free myself  just before tripping over something and  crashing to the floor. 

“ NICK!” Judy calling my name causes me to pause for a moment. Perhaps it's because I’m fatigued from the trap that Khan threw at me earlier and I’m just not thinking  very clearly, or maybe it's something else. But in my defense this would be twice in the span of half an hour that  I've had something hucked at my face.  Keeping this in mind, I would like to think my slow response could be forgiven. But  this is the moment that the thing needs to settle over my back. 

I chuff, slightly annoyed, as I look up at Judy. The curious look on her face combined with the fact that I don't feel like it's trying to wrap around my neck puts me a bit more at peace. 

“ You ok?”  she asks as I stand back up. 

“ Yeah…’ I answer,  looking over my shoulder at my cling on. 

“ It's a… cape.” She tilts her head sideways as she walks around to see me from the side. 

“ Great. And it's animated,” I chuff slightly in disappointment. “If this was a movie Fluff our ratings would be down by at least 20%.” 

“ It's… changing. I thought you said…” 

I look down, just as surprised as she is. Honestly, the amount of work that had to go into something that could not only move on its own but also change its size and shape is astonishing. In very short order, the cape has transformed into a black duster, much likethe ones from the old westerns that I used to watch with my father on the road. 

“ I said it wasn’t something that  _ I _ am able to do, not that it couldn’t be done…” 

“ Great…” She smirks at me. “So now you tell me that I shacked up with the two bit wizard.” 

“ Two bit?” I puff up my chest a bit. “I’ll have you know that I am the best wizard in the city.”

She plants her paws on her hips as she sasses at me. “You're the only wizard in the city, Nick.” 

“ Well doesn't that make me the best?” 

She just shakes her head. “You know  you're gonna have to take that off, right?” 

“ Why? Seems to like me and, let's be honest here Carrots, I look damn good in it.” 

“ You look like a cheap extra from the Meowtrix.” She grins at me. “But that's  beside the point; it's not yours.”

I look at her puzzled. “I get the impression that it chose me.”

“ Chose you?”

“ Well yeah; what do you call it when something breaks out of a case and comes after you?” I think for a moment. “Besides, didn’t Kaddreirth say something about looting something from a fallen enemy?” 

“ In that case shouldn’t it be mine then?”  she asks. “You  were laid out on the floor while I fought Khan.”

“ Not  like I had a whole lot of choice in that matter Fluff.”

“ And you caught my backup in that little trap you got caught up in.”

My ears lay flat as I look away. “Sorry about that, it's just…”

“ Hey…” She grabs my paw. “I know you were only trying to help, and dealing with magic was the reason you were sent here with us.”

I squeeze her paw just before she lets go. “Thanks Fluff."

“ Well, other than  changing size and shape does it do anything useful?” 

I shrug. “I dunno, it's not like it came with an instruction manual in its pocket.”

Judy pinches the bridge of her nose. “I'm starting to know how Bogo feels.” She sighs. “See if it can change into something you can easily get out of here….” Her eyes snap to mine and I glance away quickly. “But you owe me Mr. Wilde, you owe me big.”

I swallow nervously. “Ok Judy.”

“ Come on, let's finish looking through this lab.” 

I bend down and pick up my staff off of the floor. For the most part the rest of the lab is fairly mundane. Well at least as far as labs would go. There are shelves with the oddities that make up a lab,  some of which I'm not sure how Khan got his paws on them. Like the patter of mice feet or a kit's giggle. Personally,  I would probably end up using most of these items in a potion, so what Khan is doing with them I have no clue. 

“ Uhhh Nick, come here,” Judy calls to me from where  she's looking at something on a desk while standing on a chair.

I walk over to her and lean my staff against the desk before  climbing up on the chair with her. The desk is orderly like the rest of the lab. Everything clearly has it place. But in the center of the desk sits a dark wood case with velvet lining with four places for orbs. Three of which are currently occupied.

“ Is this … ?” 

“ Yeah, I’m pretty sure that's what he threw at me,” I answer as I study the orbs without touching them. They have a silvery metallic gleam to them, much like a chromed trailer hitch. Inscribed into them  is an almost impossibly small series of runes. I reach forward to touch one of them and the  sleeve of the duster pulls my paw back slightly.  _ Interesting, _ I think briefly, eyeing the orbs again before reaching forward and snapping the case closed.

“ Those are dangerous, Fluff.” I look from them to her. “In the wrong paws those could be used to kill any unsuspecting magic user. Maybe even worse.”

She nods slowly. “Worse how?”

I’m silent for a moment, staring at the orbs. “There are beings in this world for which  those would be 100% fatal, as they would have no way of cutting themselves off from magic. Using one of those orbs on one of those beings would basically be the magical equivalent of dropping a nuke.”

“ Oh…”

I nod as I reach forward and close the case. I pick it up and run a thumb over the woodwork. Next to giving them to Karma or Serendipity there is only one mammal that I would trust with something like this. I hand them to Judy as I start searching the desk for anything that looks like instructions on how to make more. 

It takes far longer than I care to admit to go through all the material in Khan’s lab. The sheer amount of books, papers, and other things is almost overwhelming.  Honestly, it's going to take me weeks to properly go through it all.  Ultimately we end up with three different stacks of boxes. The first  contained Khan's personal stuff, bills, that sort of thing. The second and  probably the largest stack is the stuff I'm just not sure about; it contains everything from old books and letters to notes and research papers. The last and smallest is the truly dangerous stuff, either materials that left in the wrong paws could cause mass panic and/or be used for terrorist activities. 

Between the arrest, logging all of the evidence and material taken, and the filing our reports, it is well after  one in the morning when Judy and I finally make it home for the day. 

I follow Judy into the small apartment and pause as I close the door behind us. I lean my staff against the wall and slip my newly acquired duster off as she pulls the velcro straps of her chest protector loose. I hang the duster on the coat rack and eye it slightly as it settles. The more I observe it the more I am certain that it has a will of its own. I put it out of mind as I close my eyes and slump onto the couch tiredly,  snapping my fingers to light the fireplace. 

“ What a day, eh Fluff?” I stretch and drape an arm across the back of the couch. 

“ Yeah… Water?”

A couple of moments later she sits down heavily beside me, handing me a bottle of water. I unscrew the cap and take a long drink, ruefully wishing it was one of Fin’s house ales. I really should take Judy there sometime.

“ Nick?” Judy asks, pulling me out of my thoughts about a good beer. 

“ Yeah Carrots?” 

“ What do you think about possibly  leading a class about magic  for officers?” 

I shrug and lean my head back against the couch, looking up at the criss-crossing pipes of our ceiling. “I’m not even sure what I would or even could teach them.” 

“ Surely  there's something you can teach them that could possibly save lives?” 

“ It's not like I can teach them to cast a shield or anything.” I open my eyes and look down at her. “Besides, would they believe me or even listen?” 

“ I think they would…”

“ Need I remind you that you laughed at me when I told you I’m a wizard?”

“ But things have changed!” 

“ Have they?” I lean my head back once again. “Maybe for you, Fangmeyer, and a small pawful of others, sure. But for the rest of the force?”

“ But surely  they've read the reports. What about the fight with the demon outside of your apartment?”

“ I’m betting Buffalo Butt has them sealed. Besides, the responding officers that actually saw that fight? Very few.” I take ahold of her paw with mine. “Mammals are great at at pretending things don't exist;  we've been doing it for centuries.” 

“ Maybe … I still think  it's something that you should consider.”

“ I’m not ruling it out, it's just that anything I can teach them would only be the most basic of things.” I sigh. “I mean, barring any warlocks in the ZPD none of them can use magic and the ability to use magic isn't something that can be taught.”

“ Warlock?”

“ Yeah, you know, a mammal that made a deal with a demon in exchange for power.” I pause for a moment. “Almost like your  ex but less wanting to have something or someone and more infinite cosmic power in exchange for their soul kind of thing.” 

“ You know that should be on the ZPD entrance questionnaire. You do have one of those, right?” I grin slightly. “'Have you willingly made any deals with a demon?' If yes then they should be instantly barred from joining.” 

Her slight ‘heh’ only causes me to grin even more. “Yes, we have an entrance exam.” 

We sit for a few moments, with the crackling of the fire being the only sound in the room. 

She takes a deep breath, her ears falling down behind her back as she lets it out slowly. “I need to know…”  she says quietly.

“ Well you know more about the entrance exam than I would Carrots.”

“ Not that you dumb fox…” She glares up at me. “I need to know why Susan ran away....”

I swallow nervously.“I don't...” 

“ I know you don’t know,”  she says as she puts her bottle of water aside. “But I NEED to know.” She gets up on her knees and faces me. “Please? I’m not her and I’m not going to run.”

My heart hammers in my chest and I swallow again, my mouth going dry. “You say that now…”

“ I promise Nick.” I crack open my eyes once again. “I know how important promises are to you.”

“ You really don’t know when to quit do you?” 

“ No, no I don’t.” 

“ I lo…” I start, only to have her paws clamp my muzzle shut.

“ After,”  she says quietly. “I deserve to know who I've given my heart to.” 

I nod, slowly  taking one last steadying breath before I open my eyes  to look into hers . 


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its Friday some place right?

#  Chapter 8

For millennia  mammals have been saying that the eyes are windows to the soul. Gods, if they only knew how  right they are. 

The pull of magic is both frightening and comforting at the same time. But being pulled into what can only be described as another dimension is an odd sensation.  Mere words fail to describe the beauty and majesty of this magic. It is truly  something one must experience to understand. Being laid bare to another, regardless of how much you trust and care for them, is a humbling experience. Her soul though … I do not have words to express the  magnificence of her soul. 

It’s like walking down a hall of stained glass windows. Each window tells a story that you instantly understand once you look at it.  In fact, you don't merely understand it you are  actually  there in  the moment that action or event left its mark. I’m there for her fight with Gideon Grey. I'm there for every time her parents attempt to crush her dreams of becoming a police officer. I’m there for the birth of Cotton and the anguish of her still born kits. I’m there for each of her triumphs and failures at the police academy and the long nights she spent missing her daughter. I’m  even  aware of the innate speciesism that permeates growing up in a rural community of rabbits and the work that it's taken to look beyond that. 

Karma help me, it all just makes me fall deeper in love with her. 

Most of all though there is this overall feeling of warmth.  Actually it’s a lot of emotions and feelings combined. It’s a feeling that I have honestly never felt before. It feels like acceptance, love, and  connection . 

Yes she has her own unique dark spots, things that she’s either done or has had done to her. But who doesn’t, and this feeling of belonging… I just want to bask in it,  wrap myself up in it, do anything to protect it  and stay in it. No, nurture it. 

I let out a ragged grasping breath as the spell breaks. The look in her eyes softens as my heart pounds in my chest. I feel raw and exposed in a way that cannot be easily explained. 

I flinch ever so slightly when her paw comes up and gently caresses my left cheek; my eyes close with the gentleness of it. 

“ Oh my poor emotionally stunted fox.”

I take a slow deep breath “Did you find out what she saw?” 

“ Maybe… I don’t know.” I slowly open my eyes and look at her. “But I do know it doesn't matter. At least not anymore.” 

“ It doesn’t?” I crack my eyes open and look at her. 

She shakes her head. Her other paw comes up and takes a hold of my right cheek, pulling my head down until our muzzles are just scant inches apart. “I love you.”

Three words, three simple words like a salve to a wounded soul. I’m not saying it instantly makes everything better. Life just doesn't work like that.  But I don't think another mammal  has said they loved me since my father died. “I love you too.” 

My eyes slowly shut as the distance between our lips closes. I can feel just the barest hints of her lips on mine before our teeth clank together,  causing us both  to rear back  with our  paws clamped on our muzzles. 

We both look away  in embarrassment as the pain subsides. It takes a few moments. Moments in which I can feel her eyes on me. She's not judging me; there is something else there, something that I’m familiar with the idea of,  but have never experienced myself. 

“ I’m sorry,” Judy says softly, her paws coming back up to my cheeks  and  pulling me back  down to her. “I've only ever done this with another bunny.” 

“ I’ve ne…” She presses a finger to my lips, silencing me.  Then she reaches up and tilts my head just right as we  try to kiss again, slower this time. She  also  tilts her head  a bit  to the side as our lips meet. The kiss deepens as her paws grip the fur of my cheeks and she straddles my lap. Squeezing her hips slightly, I pull her closer to me, my paws sliding the short distance from her hips to the edge of her chest protector. 

Our kiss breaks once again, this time in need of air instead of embarrassment. My paw comes up to her right shoulder and I tug on the clasp. It comes free with the telltale sound of parting velcro. She doesn't stop me from removing it; it weighs considerably more than I expect it to,  but once it thuds to the floor I pay it no heed. 

The change that comes over her as I peel off even that one  piece of gear is amazing. It's like peeling away the super cop persona to get to the sweeter side of her personality. 

She herself has  also  been busy; as I took off her chest protector  she undid the buttons of my shirt. Her paws move over my chest before lacing behind my neck, pulling me into another deep passionate kiss. 

I will tell you that the rumors of a bunny’s…stamina are all correct, maybe even understated. I'm honestly not sure who passes out first, her or me. I do know that I awake sometime in the morning with a rolling rumbling purr in my throat and short blunt claws gently scratching me under my chin.

“ Good morning Mr. Sleepy  Fox, ”  Judy says quietly. 

“ Goo..” I make a hacking sound as my purr catches in my throat, causing me to cough slightly. “Sorry; morning Fluff.” I drape a paw across her back. The feel of her bare fur is intoxicating.

“ It's ok; I didn’t know foxes could pur r .” 

I crack an eye open and smile at her. “What time is it?”

“ 5:30.” I groan softly. “But I have something I need to ask you, and if  we're going to keep our promise to Cotton and walk her to school this morning we need to get around.”

I stretch languidly, not really wanting to get up yet. “What  do you need to ask me?” 

She takes a deep breath. “ Are Cotton and I a passing thing for you?” 

I frown confused. “Fluff?”

“ I mean, I kinda understand it, many mammals have a rabbit fetish; it's just  that  Cotton loves you and  so do I, Nick.”

My eyes snap open at the  worry in her voice.  Her fear that I would abandon her and Cotton  was almost palpable . “Fluff?” 

“ I mean, it’s happened…”  she says as she looks away; I can see the tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. “You wouldn't be the first to  get a bunny in bed and  then  run. It’s happened to a few of my sisters, even one of my brothers...” 

“ Carrots…” I try to interrupt her.

“ It’s just … I’ve grown attached to you Nick, and it would hurt Cotton even more…” 

“ Judy,” I say rather forcefully, finally  managing to interrupt her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighs in relief. “Sorry, I’ve been thinking about this for so long and Mom told me to make sure how I felt about you before we…” She looks away again. “ … you know… and it was great, but all the fears came on  at once  and…”

“ I get it Carrots, I really do.” I pull her down into a hug. “But just so you know, I’ll be here by your side for as long as you want me to be.” 

I can feel her relax as her head rests on my chest. “That could be a while Slick.”

I smile and kiss her between the ears. “That's fine by me.”

She snuggles into my embrace as I gently stroke her ears. I find that the appreciative  churring sounds she makes are cute and bring a smug smile to my face. As we lay here  I'm struck with the thought that I am not alone in my fears of a relationship with her. Part of me finds that comforting in a way. 

I’m not sure how long we laid there but my eyes at some point slip closed once again only to be awoken by her.

“ Come on we have get up and take a shower; we have a promise to keep to a little bunny.” She grins slyly at me. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint her now would you?” 

I grin as she lets out a startled "Eep," as I roll over  and pin her to the bed. Her nose twitches rapidly as she looks up at me with wide eyes. 

“ She's not the only one I don't want to disappoint .” I press my lips to hers. Just as the kiss deepens I break and slip over the edge of the drawer. 

“ Nick!” Judy calls out to me as I make it to the bathroom door. 

“ It's called a hustle,  sweetheart, ” I call back just before shutting the door. 

While a part of me would have loved nothing more than to shower with her and bask in the new levels of intimacy that our relationship has developed, I honestly need just a little bit of time to myself. 

Cotton isn’t the only bunny in my den that has me wrapped around her little finger. But I  can't say  that  I mind  too much .  In fact I don’t, not one bit.  The idea of disappointing either of them doesn't sit well with me. I’ve never really worried about that before, disappointing someone that is. I mean, my grandfather had no problem telling me when I screwed up. But being afraid of disappointing another mammal? 

It’s new to me.

Getting ready to leave  goes relatively quickly, with no awkwardness felt between us. I just feel closer to her. If anything some of her shyness has disappeared, as  is  evident  by her coming out of the bathroom still in her towel. I try not to  ogle too much, even though I highly suspect that she wants me to, if the nervous twitches of her tail and the light pink blush of her inner ears are anything to go by.

With these thoughts  uppermost in my mind,  we make our way toward her godmother's place. I feel more rested than I should for only getting a few short hours of sleep. Not that  I'm complaining. I  also  have a lovely day of searching through the material recovered from Khan’s place to look forward to. 

But  that's for later. Right now....

My tail starts to wag slightly behind me as Judy presses the door bell of Olivia’s apartment. 

Judy just shakes her head at me. “ You'd think  it'd been  12 weeks instead of 12 hours since you last saw Cotton…” Her sentence trails off as our ears perk up at the unmistakable pattering of feet from beyond the other side of the door. 

I turn just in time to see a gray and pink missile  launch itself from the gap that has appeared between the door and the  door frame.

As the air is knocked out of me by the collision to my stomach, I try to suck in a wheezing breath of air  before losing my balance and  tumbling to the floor. I  do my best to  cushion Cotton’s fall.

“ COTTON!” Judy shouts. 

“ MrNickI'msorrybutIhadabaddreamandyouandmommawashurtandandand.” Cotton’s rapid fire sentence trails off as she breaks down sobbing. “Momma wouldn’t answer her phone!” 

My ears pin back as I cough, sucking in a lung full of air. I can feel the sobs  wracking the little  bunny's body as she grabs my shirt tightly. I still somehow manage to wrap an arm protectively around her. 

I look up at Judy,  whose ears  are also  flatten ed back. “ Oh,  Cotton…”  she says quietly. “ We're ok; I’m sorry you couldn’t get a hold of us.”

“ I’m sorry dear, we had quite the night…”  the kind voice of Mrs. Otterton comes from the doorway. “She had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. Claimed something had happened to you and Mr. Wilde.”

“ Did you try calling the precinct?” Judy asks as Cotton’s sobbing slowly dies down.

“ They only said that you had clocked out for the night and went home. They wouldn't say if you were hurt or not.” 

“ See Cotton, we went home; if something had happened to us they would have come here and told Oliv i a,” Judy says quietly. “It was only a dream…”

“ It felt so real…” Cotton says quietly as she peaks out from where her face has been buried in my chest. “I...I saw a tiger and, and…”

I stiffen slightly and glance at Judy before looking down and softly stroking Cotton’s ears. “Cotton, it's ok.  Dreams can be scary things; they have a special magic all their own.”

“ They do?”

I nod slowly as her big brown eyes look up at me. “ Dreams can help us deal with things that happen to us or show us things we hope or want for the future. But we can also drag our worries into them. You were worried about your mom and me having to work last night, that's all.” 

“ I’m sorry…” Cotton yawns sleepily.

“ It’s ok; you were frightened because you love us,” Judy says softly,  bending forward to kiss Cotton's forehead. “Did she get any sleep at all last night?”

“ I’m afraid not deer.”

Judy nods and sighs. “We have to go into the office today  to file some time- sensitive reports and paperwork regarding our… work last night. I hate to ask, but I don't think she should go to school today.”

“But Mom…” Cotton starts, but is interrupted by a large yawn.

“ Of course Judy I would be happy to watch her for the day,” Olivia beams. “It's just been Fifi and I since…  And, well, my own two boys are at college now so it's been quite lonely here.”

“ Thank you Olivia; I’ll talk to the chief and one of us will come  to take her home after lunch.”

“ Why don't you get her settled on the couch?”

Judy nods as she gently picks Cotton up and walks into the apartment. I stand and look down at my wet shirt, knowing  we’re going to have to go back home so I can change it. 

“ She's lucky to have you.” Mrs Otterton pulls me out of my thoughts as I move to follow Judy into the apartment. “As a father figure I mean. Heaven knows you’ve been a better one than anyone else. Well other than Emmitt that is.”

I pause and look down at Olivia. The pain mixed  in with the sincerity of her words is plainly evident on her face. 

She pats my forearm gently. “You and Judy should take Emmitt and I’s reservation at Lucerio’s. And don’t worry about the bill.”

“ I … uhh … We couldn't…” I start, her generosity surprising me.

“ Nonsense,  they’re still charging me for it and  unless I miss my guess you’ll be family soon enough.” 

“ Ready to go make the world a better place  partner ?” Judy asks as she comes out of the apartment. 

I’ll be honest with you. I'm not sure how much of a better place we made the world that  day . Judy got the afternoon off and I had to work on inventorying the stuff  we’d taken from Khan’s lab.  Now that  I’ve looked at it with a fresh set of eyes, most of it is garbage; there  are maybe one or two actual spell books but the rest is all decoy stuff. That evening I went home and was greeted warmly.

Well, warmly  isn’t quite the word I would use. Something changed. I'm not quite sure what it is but it did. As sappy as it might sound it actually feels like I have a family. Bunnies that care, bunnies that will miss me if something happens. It gives me a connection to this world that I never really had before. The feeling of belonging is intoxicating.

As a fox  I’ve been conditioned to not let the world see that it gets to me. As a wizard I long ago accepted that my life would be one of solitude. I mean who in their right mind would willingly spend time with a mammal that can easily destroy their expensive electronics without even really meaning to? Yet here I am wrapped in the love and admiration of two mammals who I love and cherish just as much as they do me.

“ Momma, can we go to the park after?” Cotton asks from the back seat. 

“ I don’t see why not,” Judy  replies from the driver seat. “How about  it,  Slick?  Up for playing in the park?”

“ Always,” I answer,  concentrating on keeping the well spring of power down. I can’t say I’m really all that surprised that Judy has a nice car. It’s an older model of the cruisers that the ZPD uses.  She’d either taken the time or had a nice interior swapped in; either way she turned what should have been a beat up car into something that is pretty  decent . 

“ This place is across the street from a fairly large green space,” Judy says as we turn a corner. The little bit I see of the neighborhood seems nice but  I really don’t have a lot of attention to spare . “ We’re almost there; are you sure you don't need me to pull over Nick?” 

“ I’m good…”  Since Khan tossed his little trap at me,  it’s been easier to suppress my magic.  It’s not like I can suddenly sit down and watch a movie or anything,  but if Serendipity is correct, and I have no reason to believe she would  mislead me, it will come in time. 

“ We’re here....” Judy’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts  just  as my concentration  begins to waver . I pop the passenger side door open and all but dive out of the large car. I put some distance between it and me before  letting my magic wash back over me. 

And it does, with a feeling much like being pressed down by a large wave,  only instead of crushing the air out of me it fills me with tantalizing energy.

“ You ok Mr. Nick?” Cotton asks beside me. 

“ Yeah I'm fine Cotton  Ball .”

“ Twenty-six minutes and you  were good with conversation up until the last 10 minutes or so,”  Judy says as she  comes around from the driver side of the car. “That's a new record for you Slick; pretty soon you might be able to sit through an episode of a kits cartoon.”

“ Oooo, Mr. Nick could watch Bubble Guppies with me or…” Cottons ears stand up ramrod straight as she all but vibrates with excitement. “Caracaldansen!” 

I slowly look over to Judy for clarification. “Caracaldansen is her favorite song; it even has a cute little dance that goes along with it.” She grins at me.

I shrug and decide to let that little doom linger off in the distance. I’m sure it will be a while before I’m safe around any sort of electronics. 

“ Good afternoon, Miss Hopps,” a kind sounding voice  says . “I was honestly surprised when you called me looking for another place.”

“ Daisy,” Judy  greets the approaching basset hound. She is dressed in slacks and a button up short sleeved white shirt. Her fur is mostly brown with splotches of white here and there on her paws and arms. “This is my…” She pauses for a moment before smiling. “ … boyfriend Nick, and you know my daughter Cotton.”

“ Of course,” Daisy  says warmly, her gaze  turning toward Cotton. “ My, my little one,  look how much you’ve grown since I helped you and your mother find your first home.”

I study the hound for a moment, not feeling an ounce of magic or hostility from her as she looks at me. “It's a pleasure to meet you Nick.”

“ Likewise.” 

“ So what can you tell us about the house?” Judy asks. 

“ It's a newer house built in 2011 by a family of Flemish giant rabbits. So you should be quite comfortable here Nick, but Judy, you and Cotton will need some stools for some of the cabinets and sinks,” Daisy explains while we walk toward the  front door. The front of the home looks like a traditional ranch style house built into the side of a rather large hill. 

“ It's a four bedroom three bath,  semi-traditional rabbit built into the side of the hill. The lot is zoned for additional construction below ground with an already bare level underneath the main level. The bedrock and soil composition here  make it ideal for a burrow style construction.” 

Daisy unlocks the front door and lets us inside as she continues with more information. “The home as it currently sits is a little over 4,000 square feet between the two levels and is on approximately  four acres of land. Most of the land is in the backyard; the previous owners have installed an irrigation system for a rather sizable vegetable garden and the rest of the lawn has been maintained to consumption standards. There are numerous companies here in the Meadowlands that  can harvest it weekly for you.” 

Stepping across the threshold of the house is odd. There is a saying:  If these walls could talk… Well these walls didn’t just talk they sang. It's a song of welcoming, of hope and comfort. It's vastly different than stepping into an apartment. I suspect it has something to do with the home’s close tie to the land it sits on.

“ Why did the previous owners move out?” I ask.

“ They had business opportunities open to them back east and moved to take advantage of them.

“You’ll notice that the home has teak wood flooring throughout except in the bathrooms and kitchen where there’s tile. The kitchen appliances are a little dated, as the original owners elected to buy used ones when they moved in. While they’re still in decent enough condition I would look at replacing them soon. The bedrooms are down that hall and the library or home office is down that one at the other side of the house. The door to the unfinished part is along that wall.”

Walking through the house a couple of things became pretty apparent. One, she really under sold how dated the appliances where.  By the looks of the things they  were probably new when Judy was born. The fridge has that aged yellow plastic exterior  and cracked handles for both of its doors. The stove  is mostly white; well, white where  there’s still paint on it, as it looks like  it’s been aggressively cleaned with 80 grit sandpaper. And the dishwasher looks like it came straight out of  an 80’s sitcom.

The rest of the house is actually pretty nice.  It’s cool inside thanks to the mostly underground construction. But because of the high ceilings and open spaces it doesn't have that claustrophobic feel. 

“ Does it have the Circadian lighting?” Judy asks. “My parents installed that in their warren before I left for the academy and it made a big difference.”

I look down at her  in confusion . “It’s lighting that shifts with the time of day and at night is a low red color to help us see in the dark without totally ruining our night vision.”

I tense slightly at the mention of more electronics. 

“ Unfortunately that wasn’t an option when this house was built,”  Daisy explains, and I relax slightly. “But I do know a contractor that can give you a quote to have it installed.” 

Judy just nods as I follow her out into the backyard. It's  got a privacy fence and, at least to my untrained eye, the lawn itself looks well tended. 

“ Swings!” Cotton squeals and takes off across the yard toward a slightly weathered plastic swing set that has an attached slide. 

Judy’s eyes  are only locked  on …well, I'm not sure. To me it looks like a small jungle with what looks like ears of corn, sunflowers, and other vegetables mixed in with a plethora of weeds, vines, and  Karma only knows what else. 

She sighs and looks up at  Daisy . 

“ I already know what  you’re going to say Judy,”  Daisy starts defensively. “And while yes, I will agree  it’s a mess, at least it's already permitted for substance growing.”

“ And the permits transfer with the home?”

“ They do.” 

Judy nods slowly, looks back at the mess, and sighs before  looking up at me. “Well Slick, what do you think?”

“ It seems nice.” I shrug. “I just worry about…”  my eyes  move to  Daisy, who  steps a respectable distance away, “ …the effect of magic on everything. Those appliances already look like  they’re not long for this world.”

“ We can get them replaced when that happens.”Judy shrugs. “Besides, this place is in a nice school district for when Cotton moves out of pre-k.”

I nod slowly. “Well, I guess I can always sleep out in the garage or down on the sub level if need be.”

She takes a hold of my paw and squeezes it. “Nick I would never ask you to do that. I want this to be your home too.”

I can't stand to look down toward her eyes as I already know they are large wet pools of absolute cuteness. The neighborhood is quiet, with  only the sound of a far away car . The air smells clean without the constant smell of mammals packed into a tight space. 

“ Well if you're sure you can afford it…”

“ I’m pretty sure we can.” I look down at her, slightly confused. “Near as I can tell you don't really have any  major bills.”

“ What does that have to do with anything?”

“ Well in order for it to be your home to you need to have a stake here.” She looks away. “And, well…” She looks over to Cotton. “Cotton, will you come here for a minute?”

“ Momma?” Cotton asks as she walks up to us.

“ Don’t you have something you want to ask Mr. Nick?”

I'm unsure what to feel. I mean really, what could Cotton  possibly  have to ask me? 

She nods and looks up at me with her big glassy brown eyes. Her ears are laid down her back as her nose twitches. “Mr. Nick, will you be my daddy?”

I cock my head to the side slightly. “Of course, but…” My gaze travels to Judy. “Judy, just wha…”

“ Nick…” She swallows nervously. “Cotton and I have been pretending for weeks that  we’re a family. And, well, I did my research. I know the reason you don’t push for more is because for foxes the vixen leads and, well, I don’t want to pretend any more.”

“ Of all the unbunny like things  I’ve had to do this was never one that I expected to have to.” She takes a deep breath and looks up at me. “Will you marry me?”


	10. Chapter 9

#  Chapter 9

There are moments in your life that will just leave you dumbstruck. An event that comes so far out of left field that it hits you with all the subtlety of a Mack  truck . This is one of them. With four little words she changes my world once again. 

“ You know what, it's dumb; forget I said anything,” Judy says,  turning away. 

“ Judy!” I say, quickly  grabbing her paw to keep her from leaving. “I didn’t say no.” 

“ Well you didn't answer and…” 

“ Sorry Fluff,  that just came  from  so far out of left field.” She turns back to me and I smile. “You and Cotton haven’t been the only ones pretending.” I smile warmly. “Nothing would make me happier than to marry you.” 

“ So that's a yes?” 

“ Yes, Fluff. It’s a yes.” 

She grabs a hold of my tie and yanks me down. “Dumb fox.” She says before  pressing her lips to mine. 

My paws start to move toward her when Cotton asks. “Does this mean Mr. Nick is my daddy now?” 

The kiss breaks as Judy smiles up at me. “Not yet sweetie, but soon. Nick and I have a few things to discuss first.”

“ But you said that if I asked Mr. Nick would be my  daddy …” 

“ Well, we still have to get married, Cotton,” Judy says as gently.

“ But…” Cotton looks up at us with big brown eyes.

“ Cotton you can go  ahead and call me  Daddy if you want,” I cut her off. 

“ Really?”  she asks, and then yells “Yay!”  without even bothering to wait for an answer. She leaps at my chest, forcing me to catch her as she wraps her arms around as much of  me as she could. “You'll be the best daddy ever!” 

I smile down at  Judy as I suddenly have the feeling that I don’t 100% know what I just got myself into. But I'm not sure I can bring myself to care. The smile Judy shares with me is  every bit as happy as the one on Cotton's face. 

“ I take it congratulations  are in order?”  Daisy asks from the side. “ You'll make a lovely family.” 

Judy smiles. “Thank you.” 

“ Now, would you like to put an offer down on the house?”  Daisy asks. “I can keep looking, but this is the only place on the market that fits the criteria that you gave me. Plus, the  current owners are looking to sell the place quickly.”

Little did I know what all putting an offer down on  a house entailed. Honestly I stopped paying attention  after awhile  and agreed with Cotton on being bored on more than one occasion.  I lost track of all the details involved in the actual offer. . I do know that there was a phone call to Olivia that was made just as I took Cotton down to Old MacDonalds for lunch. But by the time we returned I just had to sign a few papers and my portion was done.

“ You and I can use your mattress, and I think we can use your couch for a  bit ,” Judy rambles excitedly a few days later. “I mean, it's not much to look at  but  it is comfortable.”

“ Well, I'm glad the finest that a second paw store has to offer meets your approval Carrots.”

“ My insurance company moved all of Cotton’s stuff into storage so it's just a matter of getting  it moved into the new house.” She pauses for a moment. “But we will need a dining room set and some storage stuff. Your pots and pans are good so we can use those.”

“ So I take it you're happy that they accepted our offer?” I ask as we make our way through the late day foot traffic.

“Ecstatic!” She hops ahead of me a few paces and turns around, walking backward. “It’s a super nice house. And even with our commute being a bit longer we'll be saving a ton on food once the garden starts to be productive.”

“ I’m just worried about all the electronic stuff,” I admit. 

“ It’ll be fine. I promise we will make it work.” She smiles at me. “Besides, you're getting better at controlling it. My computer has only locked up a couple times this week.”

She slows down and turns back around to walk beside me. Grabbing my paw she gives me a brief comforting squeeze before letting go. I smile at the brief squeeze.  She's gotten a little more open with her affection to me since our engagement. Even when  she's in uniform. 

“ Would you mind going and getting Cotton?” She grins up at me. “I’d like to call  Mom and tell her the good news.”

“ About our engagement? Or the house?” 

She shrugs. “I already told  Mom I was going to ask you to marry me. She demands to meet you before we tie the knot.”

I can't help the grin that spreads across my face“A little late for that isn't it Carrots?”

“ Wha…” She looks up at me confused for a moment before  punching me hard in the arm. “NICK!”

“ Owww …” I yelp slightly from the impact and rub my arm where she hit me. “But yeah, I'll go get Cotton.” 

“ Thanks.” She looks around. “And sorry for hitting you  so hard.”

“ It’s ok,” I shrug and stop rubbing my arm.” I know sometimes my mouth overloads my tail.”

She sighs as her ears flop down her back. “No it's not. I’m a police officer and appearances are everything. All it would take is one Ewetube video and I would have an IA investigation. And it would be even worse after  we're married, or  if  Bogo or anyone at the precinct becomes aware of our relationship.” 

“ So why do you do it?” 

I grin slightly at the flash of bright pink in her inner ears just before she looks away. “It’s a bunny thing,”  she mumbles. 

I grin as we walk in a semi-comfortable silence. “Hey Fluff?”

“ Yeah?”

“ Do you know why Pawlov’s fur was so soft?”

My  grin turns smug as she groans. 

“ It's because he conditioned it, Fluff.”

“ Ughhh.” She rolls her eyes and turns her head away from me with just the faintest up turn of her muzzle. 

“Seriously though, would you take my staff home with you?” I look down at her. “I don't like walking into the school with it.”

She grins. “Are you sure  that's the reason, or  is it because it's easier to catch Cotton if you don't have it with you?” 

Shrugging, I answer, “A little from column  A , a little from column  B .”

She just shakes her head at me. “I’ll take your staff home for you oh mighty wizard.”

“ Thank you; want me to pick up anything on our way home?” I  ask, handing her my staff.

“ No, I already have a plan for tonight.”

“ Ok just wanted to make sure.” I wave to her as she turns the corner to head toward my apartment. “Have a good talk with your mom.” 

With my head down and my paws stuffed into the pockets of my duster the walk to HEC from that point is relatively short and uneventful. I spend most of the time thinking about a side project that  I've been working on for Judy in the evenings. Making a magic item for another mammal takes a lot of hard work and  patience . 

I might have purloined a silver ring from the things in Khan's lab. Not that I would ever admit to such a thing publicly mind you. But one might have ended up in the pocket of my duster. Gods, I just hope I got the size right. 

When  the ring is done, it will take a small amount of the kinetic energy generated from the swinging of her arm and store it until  it's released in one swift punch.  Hopefully next time she stares down something as large as a tiger  the odds will be more in her favor . 

I’m largely ignored these days as I walk into HEC. Just another parent or guardian picking up their kit. I recognize  a few of the mammals there in passing, even if they look and act different out of their police uniforms.

Pausing for a moment I look into Cotton’s classroom. She’s sitting on the carpet with her pale pink jacket and blue backpack on talking with a racoon kid, a large smile on her face. 

“ Ahh Mr. Wilde, I understand congratulations  are in order.” Miss Eveningbloom says as she walks over to me. 

“ Thank you.” I smile and raise an eyebrow. “I take it Cotton' s said something.” 

“ You could say that,” Miss Eveningbloom chuckles. “She has announced that she is now a Wilde and no longer a Hopps.”

“ Oh…” I look back over to the bunny in question.

“ Is that a problem?” Miss Eveningbloom asks, sounding worried. “We can sit down and have a talk with her…”

I shake my head. “No;  I am once again caught off guard about how fast bunnies move.”

Miss  Eveningbloom nods knowingly. “It’s a cultural thing with rabbits;  they're cautious, but once they know what they want you' d better stay out of their way.”

“ A little hard to get out of the way of these particular speeding rabbits.” I girn smugly.

“ Well,  you're the target.” She looks up at me for a moment. “Do you have a moment?  I'd like to show you something.”

“ Sure, what is it?”

“ We did art today,”  she explains as we walk over to her desk. “Typically my kids draw things like cars and airplanes,  or the occasional rainbow and unicorn.”

She picks up a piece of paper off of her desk and hands it to me. Looking down at the picture I  can't help but smile. It’s clearly Judy, Cotton, and  myself . Cotton drew Judy in her police uniform and me with my staff; both of us are holding Cotton's paws in front of the house  we're waiting to close on. 

“ It’s a good picture.” I smile warmly.

“ Oh  definitely; I just thought  you'd like to see it,”  she agrees as I hand it back to her. “I’ll not keep you any longer Mr. Wilde; have a good evening.”

I wave as I walk back toward the door. “Hey Cotton  Ball, you ready to go?” 

“ DADDY!” Cotton yells as she takes off across the classroom. 

Walking out of the classroom with Cotton’s paw in mine, I can't help but have a content grin on my face. The little bunny and her mother have really wormed their way into my heart. I mean, I went from having relatively nothing to having everything a mammal could ask for. A great fiancé, a great kit, hell I even have a  house almost complete with the little white picket fence. 

I smile  thinking about her smiling face as we turn the corner toward the apartment. One of the last few times  we'll be making this trip.  These little walks home with Cotton will be coming to an end. But the benefits of the new house outweigh the cons I guess. 

The look on Judy’s face as we walk into the apartment let me know that her conversation didn’t go as hoped. Worry mixed with something else  that's hard for me to place, apprehension maybe? The more worrying thing is the packed bag at her feet.

“ Cotton you need to pack up a couple of toys and your stuffie for a few days.” She turns her gaze to me. “Nick...”

“ Carrots, what happened?” I ask, trying not to sound to worried.

“ My… family needs our help.”

“ Ok….” I frown slightly. “What happened?”

“ A few days ago one of my younger sisters went missing,”  she explains. “If we hurry we can make the last train to the Burrows. I’ve already packed you a couple changes of clothes.” 

“ Ok…” I take a deep breath. “Not meaning to sound callus here Fluff, but couldn’t the  local  police find her?” 

“ Mom…” Judy shakes her head. “Mom said to remind you of your promise to Serendipity....” Judy’s eyes take on a watery look. “Nick, please?”

“ Ok…” My mind races. “But I don’t think the train is going to work.”

“ But it's the fastest way out there, otherwise it's like  five or  six hours by car. The train takes  two .” 

“ I understand that Judy. But I  don't think I can keep my magic contained for that long, and once it comes back it could very well shut the train down in the middle of nowhere.”

“ But…”

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I can get us there…It’s kinda complicated, but we can go through the NeverNever.”

“ Ok... ”

“ I’ll need two things…”

“ Like what ?”

“ Cotton will need to be asleep.”

“ Aww, but I wanna help with magic.”

“ You will be helping tremendously Cotton.” I smile down at the little rabbit. “I promise.” 

“' Kay.”

“ What's the other thing you need?” Judy asks looking up at me. 

“ You need to think of your strongest, preferably happiest, memory of your family's farm. If not the farm itself then the town.” 

“ Why?”

“ The NeverNever is nebulous and is strongly tied to the emotions of those that traverse it. A strong good memory of a place here will largely tie to a safe space there, most of the time the two will mirror.” 

“ So a bad memory…” 

I glance down at Cotton. “Let's not go down that path…”

“ Ok, is it dangerous?”

I shrug and answer as truthfully as I can. “It can be yes; there are things there that might not take too kindly to our presence. But largely it's no less dangerous than walking down the sidewalk at noon.” 

She closes her eyes,  taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly . “ You're sure you can get us there?“

“ I can.”

“ Ok…” She opens her eyes and looks up at me. “When can we leave?”

“ We'll need to wait a bit and let the traffic die down.” 

“ Ok, I’ll need to call  Mom and let her know not to have anyone at the station waiting on us.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and walks toward the door. “What time should I tell her that  we'll be there?” 

“ More than likely before sun up.” I shrug. “Going through the NeverNever isn't an exact science.”

She nods and pauses at the door, looking back at me. “Nick, thank you.”

I smile at her as I flop down on the couch and lean my head back with my eyes closed. I run my paws over the top of my head  and sigh.  There's only one promise that I have with Serendipity, and it comes with a commitment. A very large, complicated,  and  dangerous commitment.  It'll be like having a second job, but it's also an opportunity to do better than the training I received. 

I feel a pair of arms wrap themselves around my chest. Well, as much as Cotton is able to wrap her arms around my chest. I drape my arm over her and pull her close. 

“ I love you.”

“ I love you too  Daddy .”  Will I ever stop feeling a small thrill of happiness when she calls me that? No, no I won't.

Judy opens the door a few minutes later and closes it behind her. “Mom said she'll see us in the morning. I’ll make us something to eat while we wait.” 

“ After  that  I suggest we get some rest.” I open my eyes and look at her. “It’s going to be a long night.”

The rest of the evening passes quickly, with a hearty dinner of stir fry vegetables and chicken with a side salad for me and more stir fry  with fruits and flowers for the pair of them. Afterward I stretch out on the couch with my eyes closed,  with Cotton crawling up and laying her head on my chest  a few minutes later . I don't really sleep,  as I'm trying not to think about the journey that  lies ahead. 

It seems like  I'd just laid down when Judy gently touches my shoulder. “Nick, it's almost midnight.”

My eyes open as I nod and stretch. “Thanks.” I whisper quietly as I gently slide Cotton down off my chest and onto the couch itself. 

“ Do we need anything else?” Judy asks quietly as I sit up and stretch, my back popping. 

“ A couple of bottles of water and a few of those breakfast bars.” Judy nods and goes to get them as I stand up. I  kneel down beside the couch, looking at Cotton as she curls into a small ball . 

I gently stroke the thumb of my right paw over the bridge of her nose and up between her ears as I form the spell that I have in my mind. Mumbling a phrase of quasi  Latin I release the small amount of power that  I've gathered. It glows for just a moment before dissipating. 

I look up to see Judy’s  nonjudgmental eyes and I smile at her. “Just  something to help her stay asleep and a minor protection spell. It’ll wear off by the time we get to your parents' farm.” 

Judy nods as she slips the bottles of water into her backpack and slides it on. “I know you wouldn’t ever hurt her.” 

I glance over at my enchanted duster and it glides over  so I can slide it on . Judy hands me a backpack and I adjust the shoulder straps  before sliding it on as well . I bend down  to pick up Cotton, cradling her against my chest with my left arm, and walk over to the door. Judy hands me my staff and we walk out into the cool night air. 

“ So where are we going?”

“ To the park.” I grin down at her. “We have lots of happy memories there, and you don't just rip doorways between planes of existence on the sidewalk.” Well you could, but the park is more likely to be abandoned at this time of night. Mammals are good at ignoring things, but doorways like that are rather hard to ignore.

We make good time  over  the short few blocks to the park. With the streets  nearly void of any and all traffic it's almost eerily quiet. 

I sigh as we step onto the mildly damp grass of the park. “Judy,  we're about to enter the realm of the Sidhe or at least a layer of it. Sidhe are much like Fifi, elves and other  fey . They have rules, but chief among those is  that  nothing is free. So if they offer you anything…”

“ Don’t take it,”  she finishes for me.

I nod as I start to gather the power  needed  to open the doorway. I slash my staff down before me, releasing the power and the spell. 

BRRRPT! The gateway opens with a sound much like that of a zipper being shredded in a  dying wood chipper. The gateway itself is a swirling mass of random colors that slowly congeals into a washed out picture of the park. Judy’s nose twitches as she studies it. 

I grin at her. “Ladies first.” 

I love the determined look that crosses her face. The twitching of her nose slows and her eyes harden. I follow her as she marches forward and through the gate and I follow her. 

Stepping through the gate is mildly  disorienting at first. I mean one moment  we're standing in a park in the middle of the city and the next  we're in an empty field on another plane of existence.

It closes behind me with a pop not totally unlike the popping of a balloon. The meadow we find ourselves in is almost like the park we'd just left behind, though the color saturation has been cranked to 13. It's almost like stepping onto the pages of one of Cotton’s school books.

“ Nick, this is…” Judy’s voice trails off as she spins around, looking at the scenery. 

I nod in understanding. “It's green and lush here because you, me, and Cotton all have good memories of the park. It's a good place in our world so here, at least for us, it's a good place as well.”

“ Cotton would love to see this.” 

“ I’m sure she would, but she can’t,” I answer somberly. “Cotton is largely innocent, and because of that there are things here that would love to prey on that innocence.” 

“ I figured it was something like that when you cast a protection spell on her.” Judy nods and looks around again. “So how do we get around?” 

“ Think of that memory I asked you about.” I smile as she nods, her eyes  taking on  a faraway look . “ Don't just remember it, feel it, remember how you felt in that time.” 

“ Ok….” Her voice trails off a bit and I give her a moment.

“ Now, which way is it to your kithood home?” 

Judy raises her paw and points to the right. She frowns. “But it's so cold…”

I nod as I study the the ebbs and flows of the magic around us  in that  direction.  There's a foulness coming from that general direction.  It's more that likely from the mass grave of 92 mammals  we'd found. 

“ We'll go in that direction then circle around.” I point off behind her. 

She nods and looks back in the direction of the coldness. “Wouldn’t going through be faster?”

I nod slowly as my eyes narrow. “Best we avoid whatever has made its lair there.” 

Judy sighs as she falls into step beside me. “What would cause that?” 

“ Death on a large scale interacts with the NeverNever negatively.” I shudder slightly at the memories. “I’ve read accounts of wizards that went to  certain  places after the second  world war …  T o this day  there are places  that still aren't overly hospitable.” 

“ You're saying that was caused by the mass grave we found?” She looks up at me, surprised. “But Nick, that happened months ago and miles away from here.”

“ Miles by distance, but emotionally it hit rather close to home for you and Cotton.” 

“ Oh…” A thoughtful look crosses her face. “So travel through the NeverNever is controlled by emotions?” 

“ Somewhat; it's hard to explain. But time and distance are nebulous here at best. It's why most  wizards don't use it unless they have to."I shrug." Finding pathways through the NeverNever alone is difficult at best. But it can be done. It's how I got from Podunk to Zootopia.” 

As we make progress the scenery around us changes. From the well manicured lawn of a park to a deep, almost foreboding, forest made of pine trees and shrubbery. The trees themselves stand tall and proud, their needles a deep dark green. 

“ You said time is nebulous here; does that mean we could go back…”

“ NO,” I cut her off a little more forcefully than I' d meant to, and we stop in our tracks looking at each other. “Judy listen, it's one of the few…. laws , I guess you could say, about magic. Moving against the flow of time cannot be done. What has happened in the past stays that way.” 

She nods and looks up at me. “I wouldn’t really want to go back and change anything, its just…” She sighs. “I miss Emmitt; he would have liked you and been fascinated by all this.”

“ I understand Fluff, I really do.” I look around at the forest and look back toward the direction of the foulness we felt. “I think  we're far enough  away  that we can start angling toward your family’s farm.”

She nods and closes her eyes again  before smiling slightly and pointing off to our left. “It's that way, not very far either…”

“ How far would you say it is?” 

She shrugs and looks up at me. “It feels like  we're just down the street.”

I grin at her as I shift Cotton slightly. “Well then Carrots, lead the way.”

She nods but pauses for a moment. “Need me to take a turn carrying her?” 

“ Na I got her,” I answer almost immediately. 

“ You're such a dad already.” She smiles and shakes her head. “Not that  that's a bad thing.”

“ You two make it easy.” I smile slightly. “I’m lucky to have you.”

“ The feeling is mutual Slick.” 

We walk for a little while longer. It's difficult to judge both time and distance; we're walking through a forest one moment and an empty field the next, only for it to change again. While the presence of fey and sidhe can be detected here and there, we are left alone for the duration of the trip. 

Judy’s steps slow  then stop . We are surrounded by empty plains and tall grasses with a bright blue sunless sky above us. 

“ Fluff?” 

“ I think  we're here….” Her voice trails off. “ This looks nothing like home,  but it feels right.” 

“ Where on your family's farm is your memory at?” 

“ It's on a hill overlooking the farm.” She looks up at me sheepishly. “I used to go there when I needed to be alone. It was a good place to think and look at the stars at night.” 

I breathe a sigh of relief, as  I'd been half afraid  that we'd be stepping out onto a road or something. I start gathering up just a bit of extra magic. “Close your eyes and grab my staff. I need you to visualise the place in your mind.” 

She nods and takes a hold of my staff, her eyes  closing as she furrows her brows slightly. 

“ Got it?” 

“ Yes.”

I sweep the head of my staff down, releasing the power. BRRRPT! Once again a gateway opens with the sound of a zipper being shredded in a paper shredder. 

Judy’s eyes open with the sound of the gateway opening. She looks up at me briefly before leading the way through. 

The scene we step out onto is one that can only be seen in an early morning sun rise out in the country. The air has a unique early fall crispness to it and a clarity that is only found in places where tons of mammals do not congregate. The hill itself is shaded by a large oak tree with its leaves starting to turn the oranges and fiery reds of autumn. And below in the distance is a farmhouse built into the side of a rather large hill. It's surrounded by a number of out buildings and storage silos and fields. The fields themselves are almost all bare, telling of the ongoing harvest  taking place this time of year. 

“Welcome to the Hopps Family Farm, Slick.”


	11. Chapter 10

#  Chapter 10

Making our way down off the hill in the early morning light toward the farm yard. I’m honestly not sure if “farm yard” is an appropriate term though Perhaps “compound”, since I don’t know how many levels that the Hopps have dug underground. But calling the pawful of above ground buildings surrounding the large mound that contains the farmhouse a farm yard feels like I'm understating it. 

In all honesty though, I’m trying very hard not to freak out. How does Judy’s mother know about my promise to Serendipity? The simple answer to that is Serendipity told her. This answer is enough to make me wonder what I’m stepping into here. Just how powerful are these rabbits and why hasn’t Judy said anything about it.

Logically the answer to the last question is pretty simple: Judy didn’t know. I mean, my father never really knew why my grandfather didn’t like him; that had more to do with my father's lack of ability than anything he had actually done. So it stands to reason that since Judy herself has shown no real ability she wouldn’t know about the abilities of some of her clan. 

“You should probably wake Cotton up.” Judy says, pulling me from my thoughts. We’ve reached the bottom of the hill and are walking along a dirt track between fields. 

I nod and look down at the small bunny nestled against my shoulder. I rub  the thumb of my right paw against her forehead, dispelling the ward that  I’d placed on her the night before. “Wake,” I command gently.

The effect is almost immediate, as Cotton smacks her mouth dryly and asks sleepily, “Are we there yet?” 

“ Almost,” Judy informs her. “Looks like  we’ll be  there just  in time for breakfast so there should be pancakes.”

“ Yay!” It always amazes me how fast rabbits, or maybe just the young in  general , go from sound asleep to full throttle awake.  It takes  me  at least a shower and half a gallon of coffee to feel like I have any sort of energy let alone drive to do anything. But Cotton? Just bare moments since waking up she's squirming out of my arms, skipping merrily in front of us. 

“ Carrots, I think these fields have eyes.

“ I’d be surprised if there  weren’t at least a couple of rabbits watching us, since I’m sure the first shift has started in the fields.” 

I nod and eye the corn fields on either side of us  warily .  It does little to make me relax; I mean, I’m about to meet my fiance's parents,  one of which at least knows about Serendipity.

“ Relax Nick, you're invited, remember?” Judy says beside me as we near the outer building of the compound.

“Mom’s probably feeding the kits so they can get to school.”

“ Aww …” Cotton  says in front of us dejectedly. “But I was hoping for some bunnies to play with…”

“ Don’t worry Cotton, I'm sure there will still be some bunnies  at home for you to play with.”

We round the corner of the building and step onto a well manicured lawn strewn with toys. A small stream of bunnies  are making their way out of the front of the farm house and down the gravel track toward what I can only assume is the main road. All of them are carrying backpacks or a small armload of books. On the porch stood a pair of older rabbits: a male in overalls and a bright orange shirt, and a female in a pink plaid short sleeved button up and jeans. 

I swallow nervously. “Jeez Carrots, you  weren’t kidding about the number of brothers and sisters…” 

“Nope.” She grabs my paw, cutting off any chance of me lagging behind. “Come on; time to meet my parents.”

Cotton falls in step behind me and grasps at my pant legs as we stop at the porch. Judy’s parents have a warm yet somber look on their faces. I’m sure if the situation was any different they would be otherwise ecstatic to see us. Well at least Judy and Cotton; how well I am received remains to be seen. Especially if they know the nature of my promise to Serendipity. The two older rabbits clasp their paws as Judy comes forward. 

Judy gives a little wave and says, “Hi Mom, hi Dad,” only to be cut off by her mom. “Don’t you 'Hi Mom and Dad' us, Judith Laverne," she says, and I wince at the stern tone while grinning internally at hearing Judy’s full name. "You get over here and give us a squeeze." 

Judy walks up the steps with dragging feet and is immediately wrapped in a huge hug by both her parents. "Damn near forgot what you even look like. And your..." Her dad's voice trails as he peeks his eyes out toward me. 

I feel the grip on my pant leg shift and look down to see Cotton peeking out warily with wide eyes. "Oh Bon, look how big she's gotten...” 

"Growing like a weed, that's for sure," Judy agrees cheerfully, and the last word cracks at the end. There's a half sobbing breath, and then a tearful, “I’m sorry...” 

“ Hush, it’s water under the bridge,” her mom says warmly. “Isn’t that right Stu?” 

“ That's right. You're here now and that's all that matters.” 

Judy nods as she takes a deep steadying breath.

“ Cotton, why don't you go say hi to your  grandma and  grandpa .” I look down at her. “I’m sure they’d like one of your hugs.”

“ Momma?

“ Its ok.”Judy wipes the tears from her eyes. “You wouldn't remember the last time you saw them.” 

I smile warmly and lean against my staff,  watching the family reunion unfold in front  of  me. In some ways it's bittersweet for me. I can only hope that when my  grandfather and I finally get over our differences that we can have a similar reunion. 

“Who's that  fox ?” I hear whispered from the not so small crowd of kits  in attendance . Followed closely by. “Is that really Judy?”

“Who's that kit?”

“ I think he's a cowboy.”

“ You dufus, cowboys are cows not foxes and they don't carry sticks.”

“Jude,” Her father looks toward me. “Should you know, introduce us?”

“ Mom, Dad…” Judy starts.   
“ Just a moment Bun,”  her mom interrupts as she looks toward the gaggle of kits. “If you kits miss the bus there will be no desert tonight!”  
I chuckle and shake my head at the small dust cloud that traces its way up the gravel driveway.

“ Sorry about that Jude, but you know  they’ll stand there all day and miss the bus if we let them,” Bonnie apologizes. 

“ It's ok  Mom , I remember what it was like,” Judy says, grinning.

“ I remember you instigating more than one ruckus to get out of school,”  her father chimes in. Judy shoots him a look. “What? I remember the time you and that Catmaul kit…”

“ Don’t forget the Woolverton ewe, Stu,” Bonnie cuts in. “Those three where thick as thieves when they were young. Why, I remember this elaborate scheme of theirs to get some cookies…”

“ MOM!” 

“What?” Bonnie grins at me as she looks at her daughter. “It was cute, you all sneaking around like you were some kind of super spies. Why do you think I let you get away with it the first time?” 

“ Yep.” Stu hooks his thumbs into the straps of his coveralls. “Eyes like a hawk my Bon has.”

“ Now Stu; look, you got her all flummoxed.” She turns and looks at me. “I’m Bonnie and this is my husband Stu. You must be Nick.

“ He's my daddy,” Cotton cuts in and grabs my paw. “He's a wizard.”

I look between Bonnie and Stu. Stu’s face is one of skepticism and humor.  But Bonnie gives me a knowing, almost respectful, look.

“ Well it takes all kinds I suppose.” Stu takes a step off the porch and sticks his paw out. “Either way its nice ta meet ya son but I have fields to attend to.”

I nod and respectfully shake his paw. His pawshake is firm but not challenging. “It’s nice to meet you  too,  Stu.”

He nods as he eyes me. “ We’ll have to have a talk later, maybe after lunch or dinner.”

Cotton’s stomach rumbles as Stu steps away. 

“ Goodness!” Bonnie exclaims. “Jude, why don't you take your hungry bun inside for some breakfast. I'm sure the kitchen crew  is getting ready for the second wave now so there should be plenty to eat.”

“ Yay!” Cotton  exclaims and pulls on my paw. “Come on Daddy!” 

“ Just a moment Cotton,” Bonnie says, eyeing me. “ I’d like to have a word or two with your dad if you don’t mind.”

“ Mom?” Judy asks.

“ Don’t worry Bun. I wont keep him long.”

“ It’s ok Fluff. I'm sure she just has a few questions.”

Judy nods and looks to her mother. “I want him back in one piece.” 

“ Don’t worry Jude, I have no ill will toward your intended,” Bonnie  replies, almost as much to me as her daughter.

“ Good; come on Cotton let’s let  Grandma and Nick have their talk.” 

“’ Kay,” Cotton says as they enter the farm house. “Mom, do you think they have blueberries?” 

I smile at Judy’s laugh as the door shuts behind her. My gaze slowly shifts from the closed door to Bonnie.” 

Bonnie stares at me for a long moment. “Show me.”

The tone of her voice is as much a command as a statement. We stand there eyeing each other.

“ That’s rather forward of you,  Mrs. Hopps …” 

“ From everything Jude has said about you …” Her voice trails off as I snap the finger of my right paw and a large flame bursts to life above it. I’m not sure if I’m disappointed or relieved at the lack of a pop and blue smoke rising from any of her pockets. 

“ I assure you that  both  Cotton  and Judy have  spoke n truthfully, Mrs. Hopps.” I grin at her and release the magic keeping the flame alive, letting it die out.  She appears to be unamused but relieved . 

After studying me for another moment she nods. “Good; walk with me Nicholas.” 

The inflections she  uses in her voice when saying my name  are correct. But the lack of power behind it causes me to raise an eyebrow as she steps off of the porch. I fall  into step beside her as we walk around the mound to a garden path that leads up the side and into the trees that cover it. 

“ Please call me Bonnie, and to answer the question that I know you're dying to ask,”  she starts as we start up the path, “I asked the Goddess for help finding my lost kit and she sent me you.”

I eye the stones  along the path up the side of the warren. They are each carved with runes and pictures of rabbits. I could probably deduce what they do but it would require me to use my wizard sight. And that could be considered rude given the circumstances. 

“ What can you tell me about her?” 

“ Hipperetta?” Bonnie looks up at me. “She’s from my fourth litter after Judy; her and her littermates just turned 16 a few weeks ago.  When she didn’t come home  from prom two days ago,  we called her boyfriend and he said  she’d disappeared. We called the police…”

I chuff as we enter a circular glade. A perfectly round tiled bottom pool sits in the center. Each of the tiles are a different color, making it a kaleidoscope of colors.  I look up to see that the trees have been trimmed back to give the glade a clear view of the sky. 

“ I take it you  don’t have a favorable view of the police?” Bonnie asks as she walks around to the far side of the pool. “I find that surprising,  considering your engagement to my daughter.”

“ Is it?” I ask as I look around the glade’s entrance. “ There are maybe a  pawful of officers I trust. The rest?” Shrugging, I lean against my staff. “Most of the officers don’t believe in magic. Even with evidence to the contrary.” 

“ Most of my kits don’t,” Bonnie shrugs. “You may enter the glade, there is no trap.  We’re only here because this is one of the few places on the farm  where there won't be a lot of other ears listening.” 

I nod and step into it. “I take it magic or wizards run in your family then?” 

“ No, not so much.” She cocks her head to the side. “My 12 daughters and I serve the  goddesses Serendipity and Freyja But if truth be told Serendipity answers our call more of late than Freyja. does.” 

I study her for a moment. “Clerics then…”

“ To some I suppose; others might label us witches or pagans.” Bonnie shrugs. “It’s happened in the past. What about you? You owe a rabbit  goddess a favor.”

“ That I do.” Studying her as I gather my thoughts, I decide on a course of action. “Did she tell you the nature of the favor I owe her?” 

“ No, only to remind you of it.”

“Well then let me allay at least one of your fears.” I stare at her from across the pool. “Serendipity calling in that favor means your daughter is alive.” 

She visibly relaxes and sighs in relief. Her shoulders  loosen and her ears fall down her back. “Can I ask the nature of your favor?”

“ She gave me some knowledge,  only asking that I teach it to my future apprentice.”

“ But neither the Hopps  nor the Burrows have  ever had a wizard in their bloodline!” Her ears shoot back up ram rod straight and her eyes harden. “You're saying that you're going to take her…”

“ No.” My voice becomes a little harder than I would have liked. “I will help her. But I will not take her on as my apprentice unless that is what she wants.” Leaning against my staff I close my eyes wearily. “I'm not here to just take one of your kits.”

“ Oddly enough I believe you.” Her sigh causes me to open my eyes.“Sorry, you must be tired after your trip.

“ Nothing a little food and some coffee  can’t fix.”

“Food we have plenty of; coffee on the other paw….”Bonnie goes quiet for a moment. “I can send Angela to town to pick up some instant stuff if that’s ok?”

“Instant is more than ok, but I really don't want to be any trouble.”

“Nonsense; besides, you’re going to be family soon.” Bonnie grins at me as she walks around the pool. “Tell me how Judy reacted to your gift of flowers.”

“ She ate them,” I fall  into step with Bonnie as we make our way back down the mound of the warren. “I guess she needed an appetizer before dinner.”

“ Did you know that rabbits have a language around flowers?”

“ No, I did not. But somehow I'm not surprised.” 

“ Judith, for all her tom-boyishness, really does have a soft center. See tulips, particularly red ones, are symbols of passion, love…” She pauses as she grins up at me. “Even lust.”

“ Oh…”

“They also can mean ‘believe me’ and ‘my feelings are true’.” 

“ Well that's not so bad.” I look down at her. “So what does eating them mean?”

“ It meant that she accepted your gift, but also that she accepted your offer of courtship.” 

I can feel the inner portion of my ears heating up. “Well considering how things have ended up I  can’t say I am complaining.”

“ Neither are we. While Judith may have left out some details, she did say you saved her and Cotton’s life.  In addition , you opened your home with no thought of compensation.”

“ They needed the help.” 

Bonnie stops at the bottom of the path and looks up at me. “Don’t sell yourself short Nicholas. I don’t know many bunnies that would have done the same for  anyone except family. You're a good  tod and we are lucky to have you join our family.”

“ Thank you.” 

She pats my arm and smiles up at me. “Only  telling you the truth dear  Now come on, let’s get you fed.”

W hen I have to duck down through the front door I  become a little concerned that  I’ll be cramped  during  the entire stay. It’s a needless worry though, as Judy’s family  had  built high vaulted ceilings that end just a few inches above my own erect ears.  While I'm not going to be able to stretch my arms over my head while standing  indoors , it's not an uncomfortable space to be in. 

The majority of the front of the first floor is taken up with rows of lockers and benches that look like they  could be from a locker room straight out of a high school sitcom. It's honestly the largest mud room that I have ever seen. But in an odd way it makes sense. 

As we make our way through the room I push against my magic, suppressing it with the now familiar throb in my head. It is not a pleasant experience, but it's manageable for a short while. The last thing I want to do is damage my host's home. 

We enter through a large set of double  doors into a cavernous multi tiered circular room topped with a large dome. The dome itself is made up of thousands of LEDs that let it simulate the afternoon sky outside. Looking down over the paw rail I can see at least seven levels under us. 

“ Impressive  isn’t it?” Bonnie  says proudly. “It wasn't like this when Stu and I first built it of course.” I nod slowly letting her continue. “But our kits over the years have helped expand and improve upon it.”

“ It's a very impressive home.”

“ Three generations of Hopps live here currently.” She looks up at me and grins. “ We’re hoping for more. Come on, Judy and Cotton will be in the dining room.”

I feel watched as I follow her around the  circular room.  I suppose it’s really not that surprising, considering there are dozens of rabbits pushing carts, some laden with cleaning supplies  and others with what looks like laundry. But they generally just go about their business. I get a few side eyed glances as we pass by but nothing hostile;  the looks appeared to be more idle curiosity  than anything,  nothing close to the deep scrutiny that I felt  I was under . 

With Bonnie being a cleric  for  a pair of  goddesses, perhaps there is some watchful family guardian that  I’m not aware of. I could activate my wizard sight and look around for the source, but that could be considered rude and the last thing that I want to do is offend my future mother in law.

_ She calls this a dining room? _ I think to myself as we enter the cavernous room. The room  with its two extra long tables on either side could easily sit a battalion of rabbits. Blinking, I suddenly realize that it probably does. 

“ Daddy!” Cotton calls out as she tears across the room and jumps into my arms. The clattering of my staff as it hits the floor causes the bunnies that had ignored Cotton's call to suddenly turn and look at us. 

“ They have pancakes and blueberries and scrambled eggs and Momma made you a plate!” I can’t help but smile down at her, as her exuberance is infectious.

“ Ok, Cotton  Ball , why don't you lead me over to your mom so I don’t get lost,” I tell her as I put her back down onto the floor and reach down  to pick up my staff. 

I let Cotton drag me to the head of one of the tables where Judy and another rabbit  wait with a couple plates of food. I can feel a few eyes on me, but I ignore the rest of the room as we make our way over to  Judy’s seat .

“ Sit here Daddy,” Cotton says, pulling out a chair right beside Judy. She doesn't even wait for me to sit before  hopping up onto a chair on the other side of mine. 

I look down at the chair and shrug. While the chair is the perfect size for an adult bunny, it's only really a stool for me. Sitting down on it I have to fold my legs in front of me, almost like  I’m sitting cross legged. Otherwise my knees  would be almost  under my chin. 

“Sorry Slick, but my family really doesn't get visitors of your size often.” 

“ Jude!” Bonnie exclaims in exasperation. “I thought I told you we bought a dinner plate and cutlery in his size. You just needed to go to the kitchen and ask for it.” 

“ It’s ok Bonnie,” I tell her as I pick up the small knife and fork and get ready to cut into the pancakes. 

“ It's no bother dear,” Bonnie says as she snatches my plate from in front of me. “Here, I'll just go get that for you.”

“ So, Jude, are you going to introduce us or what?”  asked the currently unknown rabbit beside Judy.

“ Sorry.. Jaxon, this is my fiance Nick; Nick this is one of my littermates, Jaxon.”

“ Pleasure to meet ya Nick.” Jaxon grins at me. “I guess it's a little late to do  the big brother spiel about hurting my little sister.”

Judy rolls her eyes. “Only because you were born  two minutes before me. Jaxon is the only male of our litter.

“ Yeah, Jude the  Dude here is the youngest of our litter and  she’s been trying to make up for it ever since.” 

I eye Judy as  I mull over “Jude the Dude” in my mind. 

“ Don’t even think about it Slick.” Judy’s voice turns cold as she warns me against using it.

“ Heh, glad to see some things haven't changed at all.” Jaxon grins across the table at me. “She’s never done anything the easy way, not even by half. Hell man, when she decided she wanted to be a police officer did she just tell our parents?”

“ Jaxon…” Judy warns the buc

“ Nope, had to put on a play in front of the entire town. Made a pretty big production out of it for a bunch of  nine year olds.” Jaxon eyes me. “ Doesn’t surprise me at all that she would hook up with you. Man, the rumors about you on the internet…”

“Don’t listen to him too much Slick.”Judy rolls her eyes and shakes her head.“He’s just jealous that his ‘Hottest Mix Tape of 2006’ never really took off.”

“ Hey I had that one good song.”

“ True, but you were too busy posing in the plowed fields with your pants almost falling off to make anything of it.” Judy grins. “ So tell me, how did things work out with Amber?” 

Jaxon’s ears fall down his back as he crosses his arms and looks away.

“ Jaxon had this huge crush on Amber Cloverleaf down the way a bit,” Judy explains. “He found…”

“ Hey!” Jaxon cuts in. “If you tell him about that I  tell him about your  confiscated books.

”You mean those tawdry romance novels we found under her bed when she moved out?” Bonnie cuts in as she slides a much larger plate in front of me. “Some of those novels were just straight up bodice rippers.” 

I pick up the properly sized fork and knife and cut into the one of two rabbit sized stacks of pancakes.

“ Moo-om !” Judy yells as she pulls her ears down over her face  in embarrassment .

“ Well it’s the truth,” Bonnie  says as she  sits down beside Jaxon. “At least you didn’t have the straight up fur mags that your brother here did.”

Jaxon coughed. “Moo- o m!”

“ What, do you two think you're the only ones?” Bonnie asks, looking between them before  looking at me. “Nick,  I’ve had 275 kits; there isn’t anything any one of them has done that at least 10 others  didn’t do before them.

“ Does that include dating a predator?” I ask as I pop the  piece of pancake into my mouth. I close my eyes  in ecstasy at the flavor. It’s easy to see where Fluff got the recipe for them.

“ Yep!” Bonnie  says cheerfully. “At least four of my other kits dated predators; well, openly.  There are a few that are still hiding it I think. You are the first fox, but that has more to do with the lack of them here than anything against them. But Judy will be the first one to marry one.”

“ Really?” Jaxon asks excitedly. “ You really found someone crazy enough to marry you,  Jude ?” 

“ Jaxon Theodore Hopps!” Bonnie scolds. “What have I told you about…”

“ But  Mom, surely you did a Zoogle search on him the same as the rest of us…” Jaxon’s tone gets defensive. “I mean, he ran through the park with glowing rainbow paint slathered all over him for crying out loud.” 

“ Ugh … unicorn puke,” I groan as I pop a blueberry into my mouth. “I honestly didn’t think there was anyone around for that.”

The four bunnies look at me like  I’ve grown a second head or something.

“ You know a unicorn?” Cotton asks as I look down at her “Cool! Can I meet him? Do you think he’ll let me ride him?”

“ It’s not like she’s my friend, Cotton.” I explain gently. “Besides unicorns are… wild; they don't talk like you or I do, and they can be pretty mean…”

“ Aww ….”

“ Yeah, I know … It would have been cool to have a unicorn friend.” 

“ Yeah…”  she says dejectedly.

“ So how did you get puked on?” Jaxon asks as Judy grins at me expectedly.

“ Well you see, a being in the middle of  Central Park is not the most  beneficial thing to mammals around it.” I sigh and take another bite out of my pancakes. “They give off this aura that can, in a lot of cases, induce nauseousness.” 

“ Well that doesn’t sound  too bad…” Judy says.

“ Or in the extreme cases, madness.”

“ Oh…

“ Yeah, so… I tried to get it to leave by using a reflection spell … ”

“ So it…” Judy starts to ask

“ Yep.”

“ On you.”

“ Yep.” I pop another blueberry into my mouth. “And let me tell you, I wish it  had been glowing paint, as that probably would have been easier to get out of my fur.”

“ You don't honestly expect us to believe that do you?” Jaxon asks after a few minutes.

I study the buck as I chew on a  mouthful of scrambled eggs and shrug as I swallow. “Mammals are pretty good at ignoring things that they don't want to believe in.” I glance at Bonnie who just nods at me. “Destroying your world views is not my goal here. I’m only here to help find your lost sister.”

“ And just how are you going to do that?” 

I look over at Fluff. “Tell me Officer Hopps, just what would be your first step in finding a missing mammal?”

Judy smiles at me. “We need to talk to the last mammal that saw her.” 


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok guys I need to be real for a moment. This chapter deals with an sexual assault, while we do not see it. We do see the crime scene and evidence to point to it. If this triggers you I have placed the area bracketed by **. While I do not go into great detail about anything that happened to Hipp there is enough there that someone might be hurt by it.

# Chapter 11

It’s not until mid afternoon that we head out to meet the buck that took Hippertta to prom a few days before. This was due to the fact that Judy and I were curled up on a rather large bed asleep, as we did spend the entirety of the night before walking through the NeverNever. The bed itself was in a cottage they built on their property for some kudu business partners. In any case I can’t complain, as the bed was comfortable and for once I didn't feel overly watched. 

I can't help but feel nostalgic for my grandfather's farm outside of Podunk. The old pickup truck that Judy borrowed from her parents creaks and rattles as we drive up the dusty gravel road. It kind of reminds me of Blueberry, my aging Volkspawgen Beetle. Mismatched panels and surface rust gave this old truck a healthy… patina. But it’s been well taken care of over the years; even the slats for the stake bed look like they’ve been changed not that long ago.

“Sorry about Jaxon…” Judy breaks the silence and I look over at her. Her ears are drooped down her back. 

“Still letting him bother you?” 

“I know I shouldn’t…” She sighs. “It's just that out of all of my brothers and sisters, I expected him at least to keep an open mind.”

“Carrots, mammals don’t believe in magic because logically it makes no sense,” I try to explain. “It throws world views into disarray and causes some mammals to feel very threatened by things they don't understand.” 

Judy grumbles. “I know; I just expected more…”

“It is a little surprising, especially since your mother is a cleric.” 

“WHAT!” Judy shouts as she slams on the brakes, causing the truck to skid to a stop in the middle of the gravel road.

“Whoa, whoa, easy there Carrots…”

“Easy? Nick, you just told me my mother is a WITCH!” Judy exclaims as she slams the truck into park.

“Cleric, not witch; totally different things.” I look over at her. Her ears are ram rod straight and vibrating. 

“How so?”

“Well, witches typically consort with demons. Your mom, on the other paw, asks Serendipity and Freyja for favors.”

She cocks her head to the side slightly, mulling that information over for a second. “So that’s how she knew about your promise…” 

“Exactly, and while we’re on that subject…” I swallow nervously before continuing. “I should probably explain the nature of that promise.” 

“I was so tied up about getting here…” she mumbles to herself before looking over at me. “Ok, so what is the nature of this promise?”

“Serendipity is the one that started me down the path of being able to… suppress my magic for a while.” I shrug. “I’m not sure my Grandfather even knew that such a thing was possible. But like all things that come from gods, goddesses, or fey in general, she needed something in return.” 

“What did she want and how does this tie in with my sister?”

“She made me promise that I would pass on the knowledge to my apprentice.”

Judy blinks as she looks at me for a moment. “So my little sister is going to be your apprentice?” 

“I believe that is her wish, yes.” I look out the side window at the tall stalks of corn for a moment. “Magic is definitely involved in your sister's disappearance as well as the nature of my promise to the goddess of suprises.“

Judy sighs for a moment and rests her head on the truck's steering wheel. “Well on the bright side, we know she's alive.” 

“That and we bought a four bedroom.” 

“So she's going to have to move in with us?” I nod slowly. “Ugggh, how are we going to explain this to my mom and dad?” 

“Well your mom already knows; it's part of what we talked about.” I look over at Judy. “But Hippertta still has to make the choice to be trained. And that's not a task taken lightly Fluff, by either of us.”

“What if she chooses not to?” 

“I hope she doesn't choose that.” I’m quiet for a long moment. “Not just because of my promise to Serendipity, but because of the danger that being untrained would represent.”

“Danger?” 

“Demons prey on the untrained. It makes them easier to seduce.” I sigh. “I’m not going to say training to be a wizard is the safer of the two options either. It all depends on her and the nature of her magic.” 

Judy lifts her head off of the steering wheel. “I guess we won’t know that until we find her.”

“Know anything about this Chaz kid?” I ask as she puts the truck back in drive. 

“Chad,” Judy corrects me as she shakes her head. “I don’t know him but I went to school with some of his older brothers.”

“Doesn't sound like you have a high opinion of their family.”

“His brothers were jerks, all because their dad played football in high school.” Judy shakes her head. The annoyance in her voice is pretty apparent. “They talk and act like they have some sort of football dynasty, but none of them have gone beyond college.” 

“You sound pretty annoyed.” I cock my head to the side, looking at her thoughtfully. 

Judy glances over at me as she parks the truck in front of what I can only assume is another warren. “Let's just get this over with.” 

I study the place briefly before opening the truck door. It's a stark contrast to the Hopps family farm, which combines a rabbit warren with contemporary farmhouse construction. This I can only assume is fully rabbit construction, (well, rabbit or hobbit) with its round door and windows set into the side of a grassy mound. 

The door of the truck opens with the protests of rusty hinges. I can’t help the small nostalgic smile that crosses my face. The doors shut with a satisfying thunk that only old thick steel can give. 

The gravel crunches underneath Judy’s paws as she walks around to my side of the truck. She’s dressed in a pink flannel short sleeve shirt and blue jeans with her ZPD badge clipped to her belt. It's a good look on her, one that I much prefer over the form fitting tactical gear she wears while on duty. 

There are a few other vehicles parked in the driveway: a couple of newer pickup trucks, a newish SUV, and a black muscle car. I eye the car, as it has an unsettling aura about it. I attempt to put it out of my mind as we step up to the porch. 

Loud melodic chimes can be heard as Judy presses the doorbell. She looks up at me and shrugs as I raise an eyebrow. Maybe it's normal for mammals out here in the sticks to have the chorus of bells as their door bell. 

A few moments later the door opens and a young rabbit looks up at us. His gaze travels between Judy and I a couple of times before he slams the door in our face. “MOOOOOM!” he can clearly be heard yelling through the door. “There’s a weird bunny and fox at the door!” 

“Not a word,” Judy deadpans. 

I can't help but grin and put my paw on my chest in mock horror. “Why, Carrots, you wound me! IHow could you think I would ever take this opportunity for a little comedic relief?”

“I will wound you if you continue,” she says ominously just as the door is opened by a late middle aged doe. Her fur is a deep chocolate brown streaked through here and there by wisps of grey fur. She grins at Judy as she dries her paws on her apron. 

“Ahh, Judith, it's been years. I could hardly believe it when your mother called to tell me you was on the way.” She frowns as her eyes track up to me. “Can’t say you’ve been keeping proper company though.”

“Good afternoon Mrs. Thumperson.” Judy has a forced smile on her muzzle. “This is my partner and fiancé Nick Wilde.” 

Mrs. Thumperson’s eye go wide. “Fiancé?” She fans herself. “Oh you sweet naive child; he’ll just eat you right up.” 

Judy elbows me in the side before I can say anything. 

“Then again you always did have to wear the pants in a relationship. That’s why my Brad dumped you after all.” 

“Actually he dumped me because I wasn’t as easy of a lay as he’d hoped.”

“As I said dear.” She glances up at me again. “I know you're here to speak to Chad. I’ll go get him.” She eyes me warily. “I would invite you in but it just wouldn't be proper now would it?”  
“ Its perfectly alright Mrs. Thumperson, we’ll wait out here.”  
“Then again, what would a Hopps know about proper?” The question is obviously rhetorical, as the door is promptly closed in our faces. 

I look down at Judy with a raised eyebrow. “Proper?” 

She shrugs. “They’re fundamentalist.” 

“Is that just a fancy way for saying ‘speciest assholes’?” 

There’s a mixture of shame and regret on her face. “No, but you're not too far from the truth either.” She sighs and looks up at me. “Can you drop it for now please? I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

I study her for a moment before slowly nodding. “Blueberries.”

“What do they have to do with anything?” 

“You said you would make it up to me later. I want blueberries.” 

I grin at the faint blush of her inner ears. “I’d never trade you for that.” I wink at her. “Besides, Cotton ate all my blueberries at breakfast again and I really want to try some after you raved about your family’s.” 

“Look Ma, I dunno why I need to talk to another cop. I already told the sheriff everything,” a young buck says as he steps out onto the porch. 

“Just speak with them Chad, please?” his mother implores.

“Fine.” His attention finally turns to Judy and I. His eyes rake over Judy in a way that causes the fur at the back of my neck to slowly rise. He only briefly stops at the badge clipped to her belt before continuing his way up her frame. “Oh, it's you.”

“Yes it’s me.”Judy crosses her arms and shifts her weight to her left leg a bit more. “I just want to know what happened to my sister.”

“She disappeared.” Chad rolls his eyes and hooks his thumbs in his belt loops. “Duh…”

Judy glares at the buck, her right foot starting to slowly thump against the deck of the porch. “Just tell us what happened.”

**

“Fine,” Chad huffs. “I took her to the prom, we danced a little, then she got all hot and bothered.”

My eyes narrow slightly as the buck continues. “I took her up to Make Out Point in the Firebird and just as things were getting interesting I got hit in the face and she disappeared; the electrical in the car went nuts and my cellphone practically exploded!”

Judy glances up at me and I nod. 

“Mind if I take a look at it?” I ask.

Chad glances up at me like he’d only just realized that I was there.“Sure, it's unlocked. We’ve replaced every fuse and it still refuses to start so it's not like you can steal it.”

I study the car as I approach it. It’s an early to late 70’s vintage muscle car, with a gold phoenix emblazoned on the hood. The gleaming black paint is polished to a mirror like shine, and its chrome alloy door handles and hubcaps glisten in the late afternoon sun.

It would be a cool car if it wasn't for the feeling of fear-tinged desperation that radiates from it. Magic borne of deep emotions leaves an imprint on the surrounding place or objects. It typically dissipates anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The fact that the feelings still radiate from the car itself only causes my doubts of Chad’s story to deepen. 

I hesitate slightly before taking a hold of the passenger side door handle. A sudden flash of heart wrenching fear causes me to jerk my paw back.   
My eyes narrow as I glance back over to Chad before wrenching open the passenger side door. The feeling of fear hits me almost like a punch to the face. Bending down I stick my head in the car and look around. 

The front seats look pretty normal with nothing overly amiss, at least if you ignore the claw marks on the passenger side door card. The back seat looks like it’s had better days, with deep rents in the fabric seats and foam sticking out. 

I’m just about to pull my head out of the car when the reflective shine of a small plastic baggie catches my eye from the rear passenger seat foot well. Picking it up it’s smaller than my thumb, maybe just large enough to hold a pair of small mammal aspirin. Looking closely at it I can just make out flecks of a blue powdery substance. 

I eye the baggie and the back seat of the car as a sickening feeling takes a hold in my gut. I pull my head out of the muscle car and slam the door shut perhaps a little harder than necessary. 

I eye the rabbits from across the driveway. His mother has a worried look on her face. Chad seems a bit nervous, or maybe that’s just my wishful thinking. Judy on the other paw looks downright irate. Her arms are crossed across her chest and her right foot drums against the decking of the porch. Whatever Chad told or probably hasn’t told her isn’t sitting well with her.

I place the baggie into the breast pocket of my Pawaiin shirt as I walk across the driveway. My paws make crunching sounds against the gravel as I walk away from the car. The sickening feeling in my gut doesn't go away with distance and if anything only gets worse. Leaning against the truck I glare at Chad and start to wonder how many times he’s played his sick little game. 

Just when I think it's about to come to blows Judy turns and storms across the driveway toward me. I’m not sure if I'm disappointed or relieved that she didn’t hit him. But it's probably for the best that she didn’t. I glare at Chad and his mother one last time before getting into the truck.  
  
**

“The little cretin did something,” Judy growls as she climbs behind the wheel. “I just know it. Did you find anything out from the car?”

I nod slowly as I watch Chad and his mother go into the warren. “That car probably won't ever operate again.”

“Oh?” Judy asks, sounding more curious than angry as she starts the truck.

“Your sister funneled a ton of fear into her spell and it’s lingering far more than normal.”

“So we need to go to Make Out Point to track her?” Judy asks as she puts the truck in drive and pulls away. “Did you find anything else?”

Tilting my head I look across at her side eyed. “I did.” I pull the baggie out of my shirt pocket. 

She glances at it once then slams on the breaks and snatches it out of my paw. She studies it for a second before letting out a near feral growl that lays my ears back against my skull. 

“When I get my paws on that little…” Judy growls between clenched teeth as she starts to turn the steering wheel. 

“Carrots…” 

“Let go of me…”

“Judy stop and think…”

Her eyes snap to me. The look in them is almost murderous. Of all the things I have ever faced, never in my life would I think the most frightening thing in the world to me would be a pissed off bunny. 

“Going back there and kicking the crap out of Chad won’t find your sister.” I swallow nervously as I suddenly remember she knows Bunjitsu. “We can't take it to the sheriff, as I’m the one that found it and I'm sure they’ll just say I planted it. And you going back there and assaulting a minor will cost you your job.”

“So we just let him get away with it?” Judy growls. 

“No,” I grin slightly. 

“Then what?”

“We put it in Karma’s paws.” 

Judy stares at me for a moment. “We can do that?”

“I’m pretty sure that she would take a special kind of delight in Chaz.” 

“Chad,” she huffs. “It won’t nearly be as satisfying as putting my fist in his muzzle though.” 

“Yeah well this way I don't have to explain to Chief Buffalo Butt why I had to bail you out of county jail for assaulting a minor.” 

“Fine…” she groans out. “So we go up to Make Out Ridge?” 

“Only if you want to add to its namesake.” I look over at her with a grin on my face. “But I doubt we’ll find anything up there that the sheriff hasn't already.”

Judy huffs. “So we’re at a dead end? Couldn't you use the same spell that you used to find Craig?” 

“With the size of your family the spell wouldn’t nearly be as effective.” I answer, mulling it over. “Tell me something Carrots, if you were a scared out of your mind teenage doe where would you go?”

She tilts her head slightly as she thinks about it. 

“I know, trick question Fluff, since you’re not afraid of anything.” I wave a paw. “But pretend for a moment you are…”

“Home…” she answers, and frowns. “But… she's not there.”

“You sure about that?” I ask, looking over at her. “Just because we can’t see her….”

“Doesn’t mean she's not there,” she finishes for me. “So she cast a camouflage spell?”

“One fueled almost entirely on fear.”

“So a fight or flight response?” 

“Something like that; it's different for everyone, but the first spell is almost always an instinctual thing. It’s my guess that her veil is extremely powerful and she doesn't know how to turn it off. Tell me something Fluff, is it a long walk from Make Out Ridge to your family's farm?” 

She looks thoughtful for a moment before answering. “Maybe half an hour, an hour tops. It's only about a 15 minute drive outside of town.” She looks over at me for a moment before putting the truck back in drive. “You're sure about putting Chad in Karma's paws?” 

“100%,” I answer as a slow grin spreads across my muzzle. 

The rest of the drive back to the Hopps’s farm is relatively short. It reminds me of growing up outside of Podunk, where distances are measured by saying things like “just up the road and over by the Robson’s new 40 acres.” In reality the “new 40 acres” was only new back in 1967, but it's still referred to that because that's just the way things work out in the country. 

“What's the first order of business?” Judy asks as we pull into the driveway. 

“I need to talk to your mother again and have her put in a good word about me with any guardians she might have around the place.”

“Guardians?” Judy asks, sounding surprised. “There wouldn't be…” She trails off and huffs as she parks the truck. “Why wasn't I aware of this stuff as a kit?”

“Probably for the same reason anyone else isn’t, Carrots.” I look out the passenger side window and see a small herd of young bunnies coming our way.

“Ahhhh…” Judy chuckles. “It looks like Cotton got introduced to The Kerfluffle.” 

“The Kerfluffle?”

“Yeah, it's what we call the roving band of kits between the ages of two to, say, about 10.” I glance over to see her grinning at me. “Unless I miss my guess the Bunnyburrow chapter of the Wizard Nick Fan Club is about to have its first meeting. 

“What makes you say that?” I ask, opening the passenger side door. 

“Daddy!” Cotton yells as I step out of the truck.

“Oh, just call it a hunch,” Judy replies sounding amused. 

I barely get out of the truck before Cotton takes a flying leap at me and I'm forced to catch her. Well, it's either catch her or let her fly face first into the cab of the truck. 

“Hey there Cotton Ball, making friends?” 

“Uhh huh,” she answers, wrapping her arms around my neck. “I love you Daddy.”

I glance over at Judy, who just grins at me expectantly, and I roll my eyes. I may be new at this whole being a dad thing but even I know when I'm being buttered up for something. 

“I love you too Cotton.”

“I bet he won't do it…” came a not so quiet whisper.

“Shhh you dufus…”

“Daddy?” Cotton asks sweetly as I carry her toward the porch. The herd of bunnies part and follow us. 

“Yeah sweetheart?”

“They don't believe in magic.”

I pause dramatically and look at her, surprised. “They don't?” The young bunnies snicker and mumble around me.

“Nuh-uh,” Cotton answers, shaking her head.

“Even after you told them about helping me do some magic?” 

“Uh huh.”

“I see…” I rub my chin. “Even after telling them about the bubbles in Mrs. Eveningbloom's class?” 

“Uh-huh.”

“I see…” I eye the small herd of young kits around me. “What do you think I should do about that?”

“I dunno…”

“Perhaps…” I grin and look at her slyly. “Turn them all into toads?” 

“NO!” came the unanimous cry of all the kits around me amongst all of the giggles. 

“Well what then?”

“BUBBLES!”. 

“Oh, I see.” I look around at all the young bunnies. Even some of the older bunnies just barely feign disinterest to attempt not to lose their cool “older” bunny status. “You think they’ll believe if I conjure up some bubbles?” 

“YES!” all the bunnies around me shout. Followed quickly by a rapid fire “please” from each of the little bunnies all hopping up and down excitedly. 

“Well then.” I wave my right paw theatrically as I draw on my magic and a large almost beach ball sized bubble appears over it. 

“Whoa…”

“Would one bubble be enough to convince them?” I ask. 

Cotton grins and shakes her head. I can feel her excitement as she all but vibrates in my arm. 

Grinning I turn my attention to the bubble in the palm of my paw. It’s an illusion that I’ve spent weeks perfecting. See, making a real soap bubble would be a lot of effort for little reward. But a small shield with a slightly higher pressure pocket of air in it? It’s complex in its simplicity. The effort I expel to make one, or a dozen, or even hundreds of the things? Minuscule. Besides, there are added benefits to using shields to make the illusion of bubbles. For one thing there’s no soap residue if I just so happen to fill a classroom with them. The other…

I flex my paw and pierce the bubble with the tips of my claws. Instead of a satisfying pop though it emits a sound much like a kit blowing bubbles in a drink and dozens of slightly smaller bubbles below forth in all directions. Cotton wiggles out of my arms and hops up, popping one of the smaller bubbles. It also emits the sound of blowing bubbles and makes dozens of slightly smaller bubbles. 

“Yay!” The well over a dozen kits yell and start running about popping the bubbles. Each popped bubble emits the bubbling sound and more slightly smaller bubbles spew this way and that. This sends the kits into further fits of giggles and hysterics.

I can’t help but grin as I stand in the maelstrom of gleefully giggling kits and hundreds if not thousands of makeshift bubbles. As bubbles and kits bounce this way and that, I am happy. It would be hard not to be with that much unbridled joy permeating the air.

The smug solidified grin on my muzzle fades into a warm smile as I turn and look at Judy. If the look on her face is anything to go by she finally understands that this is what magic is for. Well, this and blasting well deserving assholes in the face with a fireball, but I digress. 

The look on her face is full of wonder, just a bit of excitement and understanding. She giggles as she pops a bubble that has somehow made it through the maelstrom of bouncing kits. Her eyes track from the bubbles to me. The look in them is indescribable, so many emotions wrapped up into one package. That look causes my tail to start wagging slowly behind me. 

“Come on, we better not keep Mom waiting any longer.” 

Nodding I follow her the rest of the way up the sidewalk and into the warren. We continue our way deeper into the warren after taking a moment to wipe our paws off at the door. The place honestly surprises me, not just in its construction but also its decor. The white walls up to about waist high are covered in the crayon and marker drawings of the various kits that have lived here. Above that though is the true artwork: murals depicting either farm life or the various other occupations that the Hopps have been employed in. 

The art styles differ greatly from mural to mural. Some are done in a contemporary portrait style, others are done in an anime or comic book style, while yet others are almost done like propaganda pieces. No matter the style each is well done and the artist a master of their craft. 

“I wonder if they have one for a cop?”

“If they do, then it's new.” Judy pauses to look up at me, then the walls. “Come on, Mom will be in the kitchens.”

“Kitchens?” It’s hard to keep the surprise out of my voice. “As in plural? Meaning more than one?”

“You’ll see.” 

I raise an eyebrow as I follow her through the cavernous dining room. Honestly it's more of a hall or wing than a room; it's massive, and it has to be to feed all the bunnies that call the warren home. The kitchens though, and yes that's kitchens as in plural, are on another scale entirely. 

There are over a dozen cooking stations, each mammaled by a team of rabbits working on preparing all the dishes for the night time meal. The air is thick with the pungent smells of roasting, frying, or steaming vegetables. The kitchen has a constant buzz of chatter accompanied by an almost constant drone of industrial dishwashers. Bonnie strolled through it all like a matriarch keeping tabs on her subjects, pausing momentarily at each station and taste testing with a wooden spoon before offering advice or praise as needed. 

“What did I tell you Slick?” Judy asks after giving me a moment to take in the scene. 

I nod slowly. “You know, for a bunch of mammals that live underground you don't do anything small do you?” 

Frowning slightly, I turn my head and look over my shoulder at the empty dining hall as the feeling of being watched returns. It didn’t occur outside when I did the bubble illusion for the kits. I had partially done that to see if the warren’s guardian would be attracted to any use of magic. 

“Judy, Nick!” Bonnie calls over the din. “Since I don't see my other wayward daughter I take it you haven’t found her yet.”

Judy sighs. “Uhh can we talk in your office?” 

Bonnie glances between us, shocked as her ears flopped down behind her back. “Oh dear….”

“Oh!” Judy exclaims. “No, no, no Mom it's not like that I promise…”

“We found out something,” I add, and glance at Judy. “It’s just a bit, ummm, delicate.”

“Ok,” Bonnie sighs in relief. “You two just about gave me a mild heart attack. Come on then.” We follow her through the kitchen and through a back hallway. The office we enter into is, while a little on the small side, still comfortable even for me. 

“Ok out with it you two.” She sits down in the chair behind the desk and looks up at us. “You’re being more apprehensive than a kit caught sneaking cookies.”

“Mom…” Judy’s ears flop down her back. “Chad Thumperson slipped something into Hipp’s drink at the prom.” She glances up at me. “Nick found this baggie in that Trans Am all the Thumperson bucks drive.” She showed her mother the baggie.

Bonnie's eyes harden as she glares at the baggie. Her voice goes cold enough to send a shiver down my spine. “Are you sure?” 

“It's not an exact science, but it's what I could piece together with the limited evidence and the amount of fear rolling off of that car,” I replied.

“Fear?” Bonnie asks as her eyes widen with worry. “You don't think he…”

“I don't believe he had a chance to hurt her,” I answer in an attempt to allay her fears a bit. 

“Good, but I won’t be able to say the same for Chad; when I get my paws on that buck…” The tone of her voice left no doubt in my mind of the level of violence that she wished to deal to Chad.

“Bonnie, allow me to deal with Chaz.”

She looks at me side eyed for a moment. “How?” 

I let a sly grin slide across my face. “I cannot think of a better reason to owe the goddess of balance and retribution a service. Unless I miss my guess that family needs some balance and retribution.” 

She nods slowly and sighs. “So how does this help us find her?”

“We think she’s here at home,” Judy answers. “Nick believes that she would have run to what she felt was a safe place and for a Hopps there is no place safer than here.” 

Bonnie nods and looks thoughtful for a moment. “There have been some strange electrical glitches near the library. Hipperetta always liked the library.” 

I nod slowly. “Then that's where I’ll start looking tonight after everyone goes to bed.” 

“Why wait until then!?!” Bonnie exclaims. 

“She needs to be found now!” Judy all but yells right after. 

“For my sanity mostly.” I glance between Judy and Bonnie. “I'll have to use my Wizard Sight.” I look at Bonnie. “A sort of third eye if you will. Looking at other mammals with it is not necessarily conducive to my mental health, and anything I see with it I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

“I see.” Bonnie rubs her chin as her eyes take on a far away look. “So if we got most of the bunnies out of the warren that would work as well?” 

“Yes, but I don't want to disrupt things too much…”

“Nonsense,” Bonnie tells me before picking up a rather large three ring binder and handing it to Judy. “Jude, you remember how to run a fire drill don't you?” 

“If the checklist hasn’t changed too much…” Judy answers, taking the binder from her.

“It hasn't changed at all,” Bonnie answers as she heads toward the door.. “I’ll let the kitchen staff and the nursery know they’re exempt; that should get most of the family out of the warren.” 

“I’ll need directions to the library…” 

“I’ll take you there before we pull the alarm,” Judy answers as she places a paw on my arm. “What about the guardians?” 

“Guardians?” Bonnie asks, surprise evident in her voice.

“Yes…” I answer thinking it over. “I’ve felt watched by more than just bunnies since I got here.”

“As far as I know we have nothing of the sort.” Bonnie answers.

_My grandfather told me there would be days like this,_ I muse to myself. Chuffing, I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my muzzle. This feeling could be a number of things, It could be Hipperetta herself, or it could be a guardian placed here by one of the two deities Bonnie’s coven serves or it could be a member of the Sidhe. Thankfully my grandfather also imparted a piece of wisdom for situations like this: _If you're expecting trouble, go loaded for bear._ Now speciest as it sounds, there’s some true wisdom in the saying. Basically, if I’m expecting trouble I should prepare for trouble three size classes larger than I think it will be.

“Nick?” Judy asks. 

“It's probably nothing, but we should swing by our room anyway.” 

Judy nods slowly. “Ok… let’s go.” 

Following her through the interconnected maze of tunnels and passages we come out of one into our cabin. Why they have a passageway into it is beyond my understanding, but if the maze that makes up the Hopps warren is anything to go by it’s no wonder rabbits have survived for so long. 

As I look towards my enchanted duster draped over the arm of a chair it springs to life and flows over me. It’s an odd feeling, but the weight of the thing settling over my shoulders is at the same time comforting. Like putting on armor before charging off to battle. Not that I really expect to do much charging or battle.

Judy shakes her head as I pick up my staff. “I still can’t believe you got that cloak past Fangmeyer and Wolford.”

“They didn’t even ask about it,” I shrug. 

“Have you learned anything else about it?” Judy asks as she turns back toward the passage we’d just came out of.

“No, the only mention of it in Khan’s effects is that he got it from a collector.”

“Collector of what?” 

“It didn’t say, but I can tell you he paid a pretty hefty price for it; I really haven't had time to talk to Skull Ben about it yet.” 

“Ahh yes, the burden of being a father,” Judy grins over her shoulder at me. 

“I honestly don’t mind giving up some of my research time.” 

She pauses in the middle of the passageway and looks up at me. “Seems to me you’ve given up all your research time.”

“Some things are worth it.”

“You know if you want to do some research Cotton and I will understand, and if Hipp becomes your apprentice your time is going to be even more limited.” She sighs and looks away. “I’m just saying that as much as we love your attention, it’s ok take some time for yourself.” 

“Just because I’m no longer whiling away the night time hours in my lab doesn't mean that I'm not getting any research done,” I counter, shrugging as I grin at her. “it’s just I now prefer to do most of the theorizing at work.”

She blinks at me, an astonished look slowly appearing on her face.

“You know, where Buffalo Butt can pay me to do it?” Shrugging, I continue. “Besides all his ‘strange’ cases, it's not like Bogo is giving us a lot to do. So it’s either do that or take a nap, and I doubt he'd like to see me napping on the job.”

“That would get you fired faster than anything.” Judy just shakes her head. “I've been wondering about our caseload as well, but that’s a discussion for another time. Come on, let's get you to the library.”

It's a relatively short trip through the warren to the library. And what a library it is. The room is deep inside the warren and is multi leveled, with the center of each level open to the one above and below it. At the bottom level is a seating area with a large fireplace and comfortable couches and armchairs. The levels are filled with rows upon rows of actual books, most of them paperbacks except for the reference section. But overall I'm pretty sure the Hopps library would give any of the libraries in the city a run for its money. 

I let out a low whistle upon entering the place. “Wow…” 

“I’ll pull the fire alarm in about five minutes.” Judy just grins at me before flipping open the three ring binder. “Ugh, they haven't run a fire drill since just after I left so it'll probably take 10 minutes to clear the warren. I'll keep them all outside for a bit so you should have about 20 minutes or so to find her.” 

“Any electronics in here?” 

“Other than the lighting? No, we have a separate room for computers.” 

“Good.” I breathe a sigh of relief. The last thing I need is to cause too much damage to the Hopps home.

“You sure you don't need any help?” 

I shake my head. “Clearing the warren as much as possible is all the help I’m hopefully going to need.”

“Just try to keep the property damage to a minimum,” Judy sasses at me. 

I chuff. “You wound me Carrots.” 

“No, but if you cause my family’s warren to explode like you did the weather wall you might not make it back to the city,” she calls as she heads out of the library.

“Everyone's a critic.” I chuff. “Blow up one weather wall to save your bunny’s life and this is the thanks I get,” I say out loud to the seemingly empty room. 

The butt of my staff clicks against the tiled flooring as I start to peruse the isles of books. I’m half way down the reference section on farm equipment when, true to Judy’s word, the warren’s alarm system starts to shriek. My ears plaster back against my skull in a vain attempt to drown out some of the skull splitting noise. 

The sound of dozens of rabbit foot falls can be heard as they evacuate the warren in an orderly but hurried manner. I can hear the nervous din of voices but can’t make out any of what is being said. It’s well enough that I can’t, because the feeling of being watched settles over me as I step out of the farm equipment repair manual depot and into the center of the room. 

I look around slowly as I study the room carefully, trying to pinpoint where the feeling is coming from. My eyes track across the terraces above me, looking for any sign of another mammal being in the room. My ears strain for any sound as I run my tongue across my right front canine tooth. 

Closing my eyes, I start to steel myself not just for what I might potentially see but also for the off chance that I might have to do battle with some unseen malevolent foe. 

All too soon the shrieking of the alarm ends. 

I let out a ragged breath before addressing the room. “I’m not here to do any harm, I’m just here to help.” 

Honestly I didn’t expect nor get a response. That is par for course in these things. But at least I can say I tried if things go south. I open my third eye as I open my eyes, letting me see into the spectrum of magic. 

The room itself doesn’t change, it just gets a little hazy as the subtle flows of magic are overlaid on everything. The feeling of being watched doesn't diminish; if anything it gets stronger. I turn as my eyes track back over the multi terraced room before landing on the hazy image of a doe with bright blue ears in a dirty and torn dark blue prom dress.

It’s almost like the special effects in the old movies where you can see through the “ghost” but you can tell it's just a projection or merging of two separate films. 

“Hello there,” I smile warmly. 

“You… you see me?” She looks surprised, scared, and hopeful at the same time. Well, as hopeful as a lady can look in a torn dirty dress. 

“I can hear you now as well; do you mind if I sit?” 

“Why do you ask? I’m dead; I couldn't stop you if I wanted to.” She walks up to me. “I’ve yelled at my mother, I’ve begged for help. No one sees me. I have to be dead and this is some sort of punishment for what I did.” She backs away from me slightly. “Does that make you Karma?” She swallows nervously. “Am I to be judged.”

I groan as I sit down in front of the cold fireplace with her. My knees are aching slightly from the day. “No Hipperetta…”

“Ugggh, please call me Hipp.” She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. 

“Hipp then. I’m Nick.”I chuckle slightly. “Sooo, I’m not Karma and you're definitely not dead. Near as I can tell when your boyfriend…”

“If anyone should be judged it should be that little tailhole!” Her ears stand ram rod straight as her paws cover her mouth. “Sorry…”

I shrug. “I didn’t hear anything but the truth. But regardless, I won’t say a word to you mom. Your ex then, when he got a little pawsy and didn't back off you cast a powerful spell called a veil. Honestly I’m pretty impressed; I know a thing or two about veils.”

“Spell? Veil?” she asks, sounding skeptical. “Surely you can't be serious.”

“First, don't call me Shirley,” I grin at her. “And second yes, I am serious. I've dealt with spells, warlocks, demons and the odd fairy, because I am a wizard.”

I wait, expecting her to laugh at me much the same way her sister did. Instead she studies me for a moment. “Say I believe you. Could you undo this?”

“I could,” I answer. “But I won't.” I hold up a finger, cutting off her rant before it even starts. “Only because it will be more beneficial to you if I teach you how to break it yourself.”

“Ok…” She eyes me warily. “How do I do that?”

“Well, the spell requires a constant trickle of energy to keep going,” I explain. “You’ve been doing that subconsciously for the last few days. To break the spell you need to stop giving it energy.”

“So, like pulling the batteries?” 

“Exactly.” I grin at her. “Now close your eyes.”

“But…”

“Just trust me; what do you have to lose?”

“Not much I guess…” Her nose twitches just before she closes her eyes. “Ok…”

“Now, picture in your mind rows of compartments, or battery covers if that’s easier. Each of them is labeled.”

“Ok…”

“Find the one marked ‘Veil’, or ‘Camouflage’, or ‘Make me disappear’, and pull out the metaphorical batteries.” 

I watch her face for a moment, the struggle clearly evident on it, before she solidifies in front of me.

“Hipperetta…” I hear gasped behind me as Hipp’s eyes fly open.

“Mom….”


	13. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seems Im doing the hobbit thing and giving away presents to you my awesome readers just before my birthday.

# Chapter 12 

Up until recently I never got the whole reunion thing. You know, mammals separated by even a short length of time happy to see their loved ones.  The relationship between my grandfather and I has never been what one would call family oriented. It's always been more  master and  apprentice than anything.  Until very recently, my father was the only mammal in my life that  I’d had a loving relationship with, even with as dysfunctional as  it was. No, it's only been until a pair of bunnies barreled into my hovel being chased by a demon and  never left that I really started to understand them.

“Oh, thank the gods you’re ok,” Bonnie breathes with a sigh of relief as she rushes into the room. 

“Mom…” Hipp garbles out as her mother fusses over her and draws her into a warm embrace. 

I pick up my staff and slowly get to my feet. The night of travel has imbued my knees and ankles with a deep ache.  Even so, I  can’t help the satisfied half smile that appears on my face. Hipp's eyes open and dart up to me.

“Thank you,” Bonnie says, turning to look at me as she breaks the embrace.

“You’re welcome.” 

“Yes, thank you,” Hipp chimes in. Curiosity shines brightly in her eyes. 

“Get some rest,” I cut her off, not wanting to explain everything right away. “We’ll talk later, after dinner perhaps.”

She sighs and nods. “Ok, after dinner.” 

“Bonnie, how do I find my way outside?”

“Turn right outside of the door and follow the hall to the main staircase and just head up.” 

The  butt of my staff clicks loudly against the polished floor as I make my way out of the near deserted warren. I say near deserted, as I can still hear the kitchen staff talking loudly in the as they prepare dinner. 

The feeling of being watched has  disappeared and I no longer feel like I'm being followed around by a shadow. Perhaps Hipp was my hidden stalker, or perhaps it was Serendipity making sure I helped. Either way it's  gone .

My eyes widen slightly at the sight of a horde of bunnies as I step out of the warren and into the late afternoon sun. The warmth of the sun does little to brighten my mood. 

Judy stands in front of it, calling out names and checking them off a list. Not wishing to bother her I stand off to the side and turn to face the setting sun, leaning heavily on my staff. 

My mind is plagued with a simple question, one that I have been unable to find an answer to. One that you could say drove me to becoming a  private investigator in the first place. 

“Nick?” Judy asks, placing a paw on my forearm. “Is…”

“Hipp is fine; she’s with your mom.”

“Whew.” She breathes a sigh of relief. “But if she’s ok, then what's wrong?” 

Shaking my head, I look down at her. “Nothing Carrots, don’t worry about it; it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you.” Her eyes shine with worry and care. “Did someone say something to you?”

“No…” Sighing I look back to the setting sun. “Judy, when you looked at my soul did you see some darkness, some dark destiny? Some vast evil that I would grow to become or do?

“What?” she asks, confusion and worry clear in her voice. “Nick, no… I saw… I saw you… I saw…” Her voice stumbles. “I don't have words to describe what I saw. But I know I didn’t see anything like that.

“Then why did she leave?” I ask quietly.

“Who? Sus…”

“No Fluff, my mom.”

“I thought you said she was dead.”

“All I have is a name, and that hasn't led me anywhere. It's like she's a ghost, or never existed at all.” 

“Ghosts don't give birth do they?” 

“No, no they do not.” 

She huffs,  looking off to the west with me, and is quiet for a few moments. “ You could have just asked me to help you find your mom. You know, without all the dramatics.”

“Dramatics? I ask, looking down at her again.

“Yes. You’ve been standing over here looking like you're about one good push from needing to borrow some eyeliner.”

I chuff. “So you'll help me then?”

“Yeah I’ll help you, you dumb fox.” She pulls on my arm. “Come on, dinner is just about ready.”

“I maybe a dumb fox, but I'm your dumb fox.”

She looks over her shoulder at me and smiles. “And don't you forget it.”

Of all the things  I’d expected to encounter on this trip, a bunny with a bright blonde mullet wasn’t one of them. Yet this is what I find myself looking down at as we enter the  dining room after dropping off my duster and staff in our room. He has pale green eyes, much like the color of drying grass, and his fur is a mix of grey brown and tan. He wore what once was a white t-shirt but is now a dingy grey with the sleeves cut off and faded blue jeans. 

“You herd me fox, where didja hider?” the strange bunny asks again. “And don't give me that scat about finding her here in da warren; we searched it ourselves.” 

I stare at the strange bunny for a moment, as it takes me a bit to process what  he’s saying, or trying to say, through the thick southern country accent. I’m not sure if  he’s faking the accent or if he  really  is from that far south. Either way it makes the redneck bunny hard to understand initially. 

“Well then I guess I pulled her out of a hat,” I reply sarcastically.

“Cleatus…” Judy’s voice carries a warning I only very rarely hear. “Why don't you go sit down and leave us alone.

“Aww, but I wanted to be pulled out of a hat….” Cotton intones.

“Daddy’s just joking Cotton.” Judy looks up at me and tugs slightly on my paw as she pushes her way past the mullet rabbit. “Come on Nick lets get something to eat.”

Ignoring the glare  from Mullet, I grin down at Cotton.“Yeah Cotton Ball, if I ever figure out how to pull a bunny out of a hat you'll be the first.” 

I can feel the eyes of Judy’s family watching me,  some distrustful, others  just curious; the vast majority of them,  however , ignore my presence. And truthfully, that suits me just fine.

What does not suit me just fine is what has to be the world's largest salad bar. I mean honestly, how many different ways can you prepare vegetables? Well just let me tell you that in carrot dishes alone there were dozens. Yes dozens, as in plural, more than one dozen. But when in Rome, or a rabbit warren I guess, you drench your salad in Caesar  dressing and just carry on. The one saving grace of all of this is blueberries. And scrambled eggs; who knew rabbit farmers  needed a source of protein too? But I stand by what I said; blueberries saved me.

“Judy, Nick!” Judy’s mother calls as we make our way through the dining hall. She manages both her plate and Cotton’s with the grace that only a mother can pull off. I on the other paw can barely manage my plate and the large bowl of blueberries that I promised to split with Cotton. 

“Come up here and sit with us so we can talk.” Bonnie sits back down as we walk over to the table. The table is round and has six chairs around it, three of which are already occupied by bunnies. Bonnie and Stu sit close together with Hipp a little farther away to the side of the table. I sit down on the to small chair, folding my legs slightly to remain under the table. Judy sits nearer to her father and Cotton sits between us. 

I study Hipp for a moment. Her fur is a light silvery grey, almost white, that makes her bright blue dyed ears stand out all the more. I can’t tell if that’s her normal fur color or if she dyes that along with her ears. She wears a slightly too large black Metallicat t-shirt that hangs slightly off of one shoulder and black leggings. Her light grey eyes shine with curiosity before looking back down at her plate and pushing a small tomato around her plate a bit. 

“Thank you again Nick for finding our Hipperetta.” Bonnie says, breaking the silence. Stu nods in agreement as he chews on a mouthful of food. 

“You're quite welcome,” I answer just before popping a forkful of lettuce and other leafy greens with diced peppers into my mouth. 

“Nick is a bit of a sucker for damsels in distress,” Judy says jokingly as she shoots me a grin.

“Well of course you would know Bun.” Bonnie grins. “You and Cotton were the firsts.”

Stu studies me like  he’s assessing my worth before giving me a polite nod and looking back down at his plate. “We’ll talk after dinner.”

“So is there like a, ummm, wizard school or something?” Hipp asks. 

I raise an eyebrow and look at Bonnie. 

She shrugs at me. “I told her a bit and she’s interested.”

I nod and look back to Hipp. “No, it’s nothing like Harry Potter.  Think more martial arts or traditional craft passed down from  master to  apprentice .” I grin slightly. “So sorry, no magical train ride to whisk you away to hijinks, mystery, and heroism.”

“What's it like?”

“The training or being a wizard?”

“Let's start with being a wizard; what's it like? Can you do anything cool or exciting?”

I  consider how to  best  answer the question as I stab my fork into a pepper and some lettuce.  I’ve done some cool and impressive things, but nothing  that would make good dinner conversation.

“One time I helped my daddy track a monster back to its hideout where he went with Momma and made it go away,” Cotton speaks up from beside me. “And he makes the bestest bubbles; they make funny noises when you pop them.”

“Nick’s quick thinking and training has been essential more than once,” Judy chimes in. “His being able to use his wizard sight, which I still don't really understand, has found us leads. And his connections with the fairies have given us leads that we wouldn’t have otherwise had.” She points her fork at her sister. “You're asking the wrong question though.”

“How so?” Hipp asks as her eyes dart between Judy and me.

“You're setting yourself up for failure by asking a master of his craft what he can do, because when you can’t do those things right away you're going to be disappointed. It would be like when I first started taking Bunjitsu and challenging Sensei Hopscotch, then quitting because I lost and couldn't match him without taking a class.” 

“But it took you years to beat him.” Hipp looks down at her plate and bats around the small tomato with her fork. 

“Exactly.” Judy turns to me and smiles. “How long was your apprenticeship and what was the training like?” 

“My apprenticeship was ten years, and that’s considered short.” I grin at the sly bunny before turning my attention to Hipp. “The average is 15, with some mammals taking longer than that.”

“Oh…”

I nod slowly. “I would liken it to getting a  PhD with a field of study change half way through.” I study the bright eared rabbit for a moment. “I hope you like to study;  there’ll be a lot of that, and not just being able to regurgitate it for a test.”

“Oh, that reminds me…” Bonnie says, drawing my attention over to her. “She has to be able to finish high school.”

“Yes she will,” I agree.

“Nick finished his by correspondence course.” Judy looks thoughtful for a moment “I’m not sure they still do that; maybe she'll be able to do it online, but…” She glances at me. 

“But what?” 

“Technology and magic don’t mix overly well. It takes a lot of concentration and control just to keep my magic from wreaking havoc with all the electronics in here.” I look back to Hipp. “That's actually one of the first things I’ll be teaching you.”

“You mean no internet?” Hipp asks, sounding scared as I slowly nod. “But my entire life is online!” 

She rests her head on her paws, her elbows propped up on the table. Her shoulders slump and shake slightly as she fights with her emotions. The emotional turmoil  rolling off of her is made manifest by the flows of magic swirl ing slightly around us. They brush against me like a gentle caress. It's not like the strong rolling storm that comes off of me when I’m agitated. It's more like a strong gust of wind. 

“Gah!” Stu shouts as his phone lets out a sudden pop and he flings it out of the front pocket of his overalls onto the floor. The faint wisps of blue smoke are accompanied by the acidic smell of ozone.

“Stu!” Bonnie shouts in equal surprise as the dining hall goes quiet.

Hipp’s head snaps up as she looks from the smoking phone on the floor, to her father, then me. Her eyes take on a near panicked look as they dart around. 

“I…..I, I didn’t…” she starts as I feel her magic shifting. Her breath starts to quicken and a faint hint of a blue grey glow seeps into her eyes.

“Hipp,” I say as gently as I can.

She ignores me as her eyes dart one more time.  Then she slowly but  subtly starts to fade.

“Hipperetta…” My voice takes on a slightly commanding tone as I pour just a bit of my magic into it. My left paw darts forward, grabbing her arm and grounding out the veil that she’s started to instinctively cast. “Calm yourself and breathe. It's ok; no one blames you and no one was hurt.” 

Bonnie looks over at the distraught look on her younger daughter’s face. “Oh hun…” Bonnie sighs as she gathers Hipp up in a hug. I let go of Hipp's arms as soon as she has contact with her mother, but I keep an eye on her as I turn my attention back down to my food. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, dang old thing,” Stu says, turning away from the destroyed device on the floor. “I’ve been wanting to upgrade to one of them new CAT farming phones anyway.” 

Hipp slowly calms and the rest of dinner passes without further incident. I  keep my eye on Hipp anyway, just as a precaution. But she generally seems to be able to collect herself, even if her ears never really did perk back up and she seems a little sad. It’s understandable; I felt the same way when I learned I couldn’t play video games any more. To this day I still miss my old  Gameboy . But such is the price you pay for getting to wield the fundamental forces of nature, I guess. 

“Bon, I swear you outdid yourself tonight,” Stu says as he pushes back from the table and pats his stomach. “I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

“Oh hush you,” Bonnie says with a grin on her face. “You know I just oversee the making of the meals these days.” 

“Coulda fooled me,” Stu shoots back as he winks at her. 

“Now you're just trying to butter me up.” 

“Maybe,” Stu agrees before looking across the table at me. “But first I think it's time we had that chat, eh son?” 

I nod in agreement and move to pick up my plate. 

Bonnie stops me.  “ Don’t you worry about that.  We’ll deal with it; you two just go have a nice chat.”

I nod and stand up. “Thank you Bonnie; it was a wonderful meal.”

“Dad,” Judy says, giving her father a hard look. “I’m already marrying him so no need to try to scare him off.”

Stu chuckles and rubs the back of his head before  placing his cap back on. “Now Jude,  we’re just going to go get to know each other that's all.” 

She nods slowly. “I’m just saying I want him back.” 

I follow Stu through the kitchens,  where he pauses just long enough to grab a pair of brown bottles from a refrigerator before we continue our way through to the back door. I have to duck down a little bit to fit through. The back door opens out onto a well manicured lawn with the setting autumn sun in the distance. It paints the sky in hues of fiery orange, pink, and dark blue. 

We walk over to the edge of the lawn where it joins one of the  fallow fields. Stu uses one bottle to open the other,  and  the snip hiss of carbonation momentarily fills the evening air. He hands me the cold open bottle and I take a sip of it. The beer isn’t nearly as good as Fin’s but it's not terrible either. A moment later he twists the top off the other. We stand there for a moment watching the sun set. 

“Relax son, I’m not gonna bite,” Stu says as he turns and looks at me. 

I nod. “You know for a carrot farmer you seem awfully ok with the idea of magic.”

Stu shrugs and looks back to the field. “I probably shouldn’t be.” 

I shrug and take another sip of the beer. “It’s rare; so many mammals would rather ignore what they can’t explain.” 

Stu takes a sip of his and sighs before looking at me. “You know my oldest son, Adam, he’s about your age.”

“Yeah?” I try to think over all the rabbits that I’ve met. “Not sure I’ve met him.”

“He lives over yonder with his wife and kits.” Stu points off toward the horizon. “There was a time, though, I didn’t think that boy would make it.”

“Oh?” 

“He was five and got sick.” Stu takes another swallow of his beer. “I mean real sick; most of his fur fell out and he was feverish. Doc Brown was certain there was nothing that could be done except to make the boy comfortable.”

My ears plaster back and I look down at the elder male. 

“Bon, she wouldn’t give up on him though.” He takes a deep breath. “Prayed over him day and night.” 

“What happened?” 

“I was bringing her some soup; she was wasting away herself and wasn't taking care of herself.” ,He wipes slightly at his eyes. “I could hear her talking to someone. I recognized her voice, but the other one was different.”

I nod and take a sip of my beer.

“I looked in the room and there was another doe in there with her. Bon was on her knees at Adam’s bedside. The doe looked at me and, without moving her mouth, said, ‘I will help.’” 

Stu paused a moment to take another sip.  “ I helped Bonnie build the clearing at the top of the warren,”  he continued, with more than a hint of pride in his voice. “Moved the large stones up there myself. We worked on it for seven days and it didn't look like it does now;  we’ve added things over the years. But I tell you son, my boy got better every day we worked on it.”

“This doe wouldn’t happen to have been silvery grey with mismatched eyes?” I ask, looking back to the sunset. 

“No she was whiter than fresh fallen snow,” he answers. “Bon says her name is Freyja, and none of our kits have ever gotten that sick again.” 

“Ahh...” I nod, having heard the name earlier from Bonnie.

“I’ve done everything Bonnie has asked of me and our harvests are a little more plentiful.” He pauses, looking down and kicking at the grass. “Well except for one year, the year Jude left with Cotton.”

I just look off into the field, unsure of what to say to that. 

Stu looks up at me and studies me for a moment. “I’m a simple farmer son, but I know enough to know that things in your world come at a price.”

I nod slowly. “Most of the time.” 

“So what's Hipperetta’s training going to cost?” 

“You nothing, but there are some more mundane aspects of magic that Hipp will be tending to.” I look at him for a moment and shrug. “Plus she'll probably have to play general go-fer for Judy and I. Along with watching Cotton at times. But if you want to donate something for her room and board I'm sure Judy won't mind that.” 

“You sure?” he asks. “I mean, from the sounds of it you’ll be teaching her for a while.”

“You’re right, I will be teaching her for a while…” I rub my chin as I think about it, then grin. “If you throw in a couple of baskets of blueberries every so often I think we can consider ourselves square.”

He huffs and shakes his head, chuckling.“You know, I think you're alright  son .” 

I smile and take the last sip of my beer. 

“Do ya know when you'll be heading back to the city?” 

“Likely tomorrow evening; Judy and I still have day jobs.”

He nods slowly. “Shame; I was hoping you guys could stay a bit longer. It’s been ages since we had Jude and Cotton around.”

“I wish we could stay longer.” It’s true. I wish we could, mostly for Judy and Cottons sake, as family ties are important.

Stu looks at his empty bottle for a moment, as if weighing his next words carefully. “Ever shoot skeet?” 

“Not in the traditional sense.” I shrug. “My grandfather used it as a training aide.”

“Some of my boys and I are going tomorrow afternoon.” He takes off his cap and rubs the back of his head. “You're welcome to join us.” 

“Guns and me don't mix overly well.” It’s really only a half truth. Simple revolvers I can use just fine and have on my grandfather's farm, but anything more complicated just jams.

“Well from the sounds of things you don't need one.” 

“No I don’t suppose that I do.”

“Some of my older boys are still a bit backwards in their thinking.” I raise an eyebrow and look down at him, surprised at the admission. “I’ve tried to straighten ‘em out, but it's easier said than done. The younger ones are easy, but the older ones….” He shrugs and looks away. “It's easier to grow them, than to fix them.” 

“Me going skeet shooting with them is going to help fix them?”

“Likely not,” he admits quietly. “But my Grandpap had a saying from the war. ‘Walking quietly and carrying a big stick isn't enough. Sometimes you have to wallop something to let others know you're not vulnerable.’” 

“Ahhh, skeet is a cheap thing to give a wallop to.” I run my tongue over the right canine as I think about it. I don't necessarily like displays of power for the display sake. “I’ll think about it.” 

“That's all I ask. We’re gonna go after lunch tomorrow.” 

I nod slowly as I mull it over. The idea of a bit of target practice does have  its appeal And if a show of force might save me some grief later down the road it might be worth it. But at the same time it could just exacerbate the problem. I’ll have to ask Judy what she thinks. 

We stand out there for a little longer, watching the sunset  and  talking about more mundane things.  If Carrots hadn’t told me about the incident that led her to leave the farm, I would have never known about her father's bigotry in the past. I  can’t hold it against him though; he seems like a decent mammal that is honestly trying to change for the better. I find myself generally liking Stu. I find his love for his family and his work ethic admirable,  traits that he passed down to his daughter whom I love. 

Just as  we’re heading back inside  we’re met halfway across the lawn by Bonnie and Hipp. Nervous energy pours off Hipp as she fiddles with the hem of her shirt. She clenches her paws into fists before  looking up at me and almost  meeting my gaze. 

“I hate to keep you out here any more than necessary Nick, but I think it's time we had a chat,” Bonnie says sternly in a way that only mothers can. 

“It was nice talking with you Stu, and thanks for the beer.” 

“Think about what I said,” Stu says, taking my empty bottle from my paw. 

“Judy says you can’t be around electronics, that they, well…” Hipp starts almost as soon as her dad had stepped away.

I nod and stuff my paws into my pockets. “They tend go poof like your father’s cell phone.”

“But Judy said you've been working on that and you’ve been getting better,” Bonnie interjects. “She was vague on the details though.”

“It’s possible to compress and control the effect of the magical energy around me.” I pause and look between the two. “It’s hard though, and at least for me it's like trying to hold back the force of the tide with a plank of wood.”

“It’s knowledge that, at least as far as I know, hasn’t been made wide spread amongst wizards for a millennia.” I eye Hipp for a moment, letting that sink in. “It might be easier for you though, since it'll be one of the first things that you learn.” 

“Could she learn that and then return to her life as normal?” Bonnie asks.

“She could, yes.”

“I’m a mother Nicholas, so I’m very well of the ‘but’ that’s hanging on that sentence.”

I grin, tempted to make a crass joke, but the hard look in Bonnie's eyes says ‘I dare you’ and I think better of it. “But…  it’ll be a constant struggle. There are things in the world that would love to start whispering into your ear.” I hold up a finger, cutting Hipp and her mother off. “It’ll start simple, with how she can use it to do something seemingly small, and she'll do it. That’ll make  a demon or even one of the Sidhe happy, as they can influence you. It’ll build from that one simple thing to something bigger, and the next thing you know you're either a vessel for a demon or a thrall for an elf.”

“What happens then?”

“A warden of the White Council of Wizards will come and…” I shrug with a bit of pity in my eyes. “The demon or whatever you're enthralled to at the time might protect you for a time. But they will eventually get bored.” 

“And training will keep all that from happening?” 

I look away and shrug thinking about my own problems with the Council. “It's no guarantee, but it's a good start yes.” 

“I guess I have no choice then.” 

My eyes snap back to her and I sigh. “We always have a choice; it's why we are given free will. The choices before you may both seem bad, but you always have the choice.” 

“It doesn't feel like it.” 

“Sorry.” I scratch at the back of my head. “I might have gone a little heavy pawed with the dire warnings.”

“No, you talked to me like I was an adult.” She smiles up at me. “Thank you.”

“Do you need some time to think it over?” 

“No. I think I understand why Judy wanted to be a cop, what she means about wanting to make the world a better place.” She takes a deep breath. “I want to be a wizard.” 

I nod slowly, a small smile crossing my muzzle. “Ok.”

She frowns as she looks up at me. “ That’s it ?” 

“Not really.” I gather a bit of my will, pulling my paws from my pockets. Waving my right paw it swirls around us in a small vortex of power. “I promise to teach you all that I can about the flows of magic and to see your training through to completion. In this I give you my sacred word.” I wince slightly as the binding takes hold. 

“Do you give your word that you will be a faithful and dutiful student, obey the Seven Laws of Magic, and abide by the Unseelie Accords?” 

“I give my word.”


	14. Chapter 13

# Chapter 13

Hipp shudders as the binding takes effect and I let the magic flow back out into the world. She looks down at the grass and rubs her arms. 

“What was that?” 

“A binding, you gave your word.” I take a deep breath and shove my paw back into my pocket. “Our world doesn’t have courts in the traditional sense that mammals think of them, mostly due to the power discrepancy between beings in it. So whatever deity created all this put in a fail safe. If you give another being your word you're bound to it; whatever it is you promised to do, you have to do it.”

“And if I don’t?” she asks as she looks back up at me. 

“Depends on what you promised to do.” I shrug. “It could be anything from you losing some of your power to being crippled entirely. It’ll stay that way until the being you wronged either forgives the slight, you do what you promised, or one of you dies.”

“That seems drastic.” 

“It is, but it’s the only way to level the playing field between the smallest fairy and the largest dragon or deity. Your word is your bond, and it’s only as good as you make it.” 

“So in other words, be careful who I give my word to.”

“Exactly,” I chuff, and look over at the sunset, judging how much time we have until Cotton’s bed time. “Bonnie would you tell Judy to go on and put Cotton to bed if I'm not inside soon?”

“Sure, but why?” 

“I need to take Hipp up onto Judy’s hill and introduce her to Karma.” 

“You could use the shrine,” Bonnie offers. 

Thinking it over, I slowly shake my head. “No; while Serendipity and Karma have no problems with each other, I have no idea about Freyja. The last thing I want is to upset a Goddess.”

Bonnie nods as she turns to Hipp. “You pay attention, and mind your manners.”

“I will, Mom,” Hipp answers as I pull my paws out of my pockets and start walking toward the hill. I can hear her footsteps on the well manicured lawn as she moves to catch up with me. The nervous energy that rolls off of her is telling and predictable. 

I tilt my head to the side. “This works best if you ask questions.” 

Hipp hesitates for a moment before asking. “Why Karma?” 

“You were wronged,” I answer simply, letting the answer hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “I know well the drive that a quest of revenge can give you. But it’s also misguided and a waste of your talents. So in order to balance your scales we will beseech Karma to act in your favor.” 

“I don't want revenge.” 

I look down at her for a moment. The wire rims of her glasses glint as they catch the dying rays of sunlight. “Justice then.” I look back up the hill.

She’s quiet for a few moments. “Can Karma give me justice?” 

“In her own way. I suppose it depends on your definition of justice.” I shrug. “Is it justice under the letter of the law you're after, or are you after a more…” I wave my paw in front of me in an arch. “…cosmic justice?” 

“I don’t know; what is she likely to do to get me justice?” 

I think about it for a moment as I weigh what I know about Karma. “She's likely to make him relive everything that happened not just to you but to anyone else he either did or thought about doing the same to. Not from his point of view though from yours and his victims. She has more options mostly because the Laws of Magic do not apply to her.” 

“What are the Laws of Magic?” She asks. “You mentioned them in your promise to me and just now.”

“Now that is a good question.” I grin down at her. “They are guidelines meant to keep us from using our power to take over the world. Wizards are meant to help keep the peace between the mortal world and those of the fay and other beings that call this world home. Most these days tend to sit in their dens hoarding knowledge and caring little about the world around them.” 

“Ok…”

“The first rule of magic is: Thou shall not kill.” I looked up at the sky for a moment. “Really this is the most caveated rule of magic, as you are allowed to defend yourself. The spirit of the law is meant to keep us from going around killing mortals and those beings that have signed the Unseelie Accords.” 

“Unseelie Accords?” she asks, sounding confused. “Like the Predator Prey Accords??” 

“Pretty much; we’ll go into them later, but the spirit is the same. The fay signed them, along with the magic users and a few of the more savory types of beings. Some things, like Black Court vampires, are still open game though.”

“Ok that's easy enough. What's the second law of magic?” 

“Well the next three can pretty much be summed up to don’t be a douche.” Shrugging I look down at her and hold a finger. “First, no transforming into others.” I put up a second. “No invading the mind of another mammal or being, and trust me, there are some things whose heads you really don't want to play around in anyway.” I hold a third. “No enthralling others.” 

She nods as she mulls them over. “Yeah ok, I can see all of those being pretty douchey things to do.” 

“I know right? But they’re there for a reason.” 

She looks up at me. “Ok no douchebaggery then; what else?” 

“No necromancy, what’s dead stays dead;what you bring back might at first be the being you tried to save but…”

“They’ll change.”

I nod. “Necromancy is how a lot of apprentices end up on the White Council’s radar, and it also carries the heaviest penalties. Only rivaled by time travel.” 

“That's not allowed either then?” 

“No, what's happened in the past stays in the past. You might go back with the best of intentions, but it never works out.”

“The butterfly effect?” I look down at her, surprised. “What?” she asks. “I like science fiction novels and time travel is a big trope.”

“I think we are going to get along just fine. But yeah, that’s a large reason for it.” I grin. “The last is, no seeking knowledge beyond the Outer Gates.”

“The outer gates of what?” 

“Our reality.”

She’s quiet after that. Honestly I don't blame her; the knowledge that there are other beings out there is worldview, maybe even life altering. So her sudden lack of questions isn't that surprising to me. I know it's just the calm before the storm, and I will do my level best to answer her questions better than my grandfather did mine. 

“ _You don’t need to know that yet, Hoss,”_ came the burly reminder of his voice. That was the answer I got to most of my questions. Others helped me figure out the answer myself. I’m not sure which way is better, figuring it out for yourself or being handed the answer. I think it depends on the question. 

The air takes on a chill as we reach the top of the hill. The cold doesn’t really bother me. Something about my affinity with fire insulates me from it. Glancing down at Hipp I catch a barely suppressed shiver and am reminded that not everyone shares the same benefits that I do. 

I pick up a stick and draw an almost perfect circle on the ground. “Are you taking any language classes?”

“You mean like Furench?” she asks, rubbing her arms. 

“Something like that. Really anything would work.” 

“Ugh please tell me I don’t have to.”

I concentrate a bit on the circle I’ve just made as I shape the spell in my mind. “Languages help us develop head spaces for magic. On top of that, while activation words are not strictly necessary they do eliminate a bit of strain; at the same time they add a bit of a problem as well.”

“Problem how?” 

“Well, you don't want your activation words to be in a language you converse in all the time.” I snap my fingers while muttering. “Flickus Bicus.” A flame snaps to life inside the circle, hovering just a few inches above the well manicured grass. It bathes the area in flickering orange light and creates a small envelope of warmth. 

“Basically you don't want to sneeze and accidentally set off a fire ball,” I finish explaining.

“Please tell me that's not a thing,” she groans as she puts her paws toward the flame, frowning as she studies it.

“Conjuritis is a thing that typically affects first or second year apprentices.” I rub my chin for a moment. “Typically creates odd things like pots, bricks, and what not. So yeah, it's a thing.”

I can’t help the grin that crosses my muzzle as she groans. “Oh that's not the worst of it.”

“It’s not?” She looks up from the flames to me; there’s just a hint of dread in her voice.

“Nope; it's when the summoned things break down. Since they’re not real, they tend to break down into this ectoplasmic goo.” I pause, thinking it over. “Thankfully the new place has wood and tile floors.”

“Ugh.“

“Yeah; hope you're good with a mop. Ectoplasm breaks down as well but it takes forever.”

She stares at me wide eyed and I use the momentary lapse in questions to start gathering the magic around us. Typically I would only use a fraction of the magic to make a call to Karma. Those are more the “hey call me back at your convenience” kind of summons. This time though it’s official business; not that asking about a dragon isn't official business but this is more the realm of balance official business than police. 

“Karma, goddess of balance, I beseech ye for your presence!” I release the magic and it vibrates through the air like a thundering bass note. The flame momentarily flashes green as Istart gathering magic once again. The grass and leaves still on the branches of the trees rustle as it spins around me.

“Karma, goddess of retribution, I beseech ye for your presence!” The air vibrates as if I’ve struck a doom drum as I release the magic I had gathered. The flame flashes green and fans ever higher as I again gather more magic. It condenses into an eery blue fog that swirls around my paws as I move them in concentric circles before me. 

“Karma, goddess of balance and retribution, patron of Zootopia, I beseech ye for your presence!” The air rings and vibrates as if we were standing before the world's largest gong. It's a sound that you not only hear but also feel in your soul. The flame swirls as it condenses to only the smallest of glittering embers before it flashes large again. 

On the other side of the flame Karma’s eyes appear first.“It’s been a while since you’ve been so formal in your summons,” she all but purrs as the rest of her materializes. “At least you learn.”

“Formality seems to benefit the occasion.” I bow my head respectfully. “And I remember well the lesson you taught me on such rudeness.” 

“What occasion is this?” 

“I have taken an apprentice.” I motion to Hipp, who stands to my left, transfixed. Her nose twitches rapidly.

“Ahhhh.” Karma looks over to Hipp. “Hipperetta Virginia Hopps,” Karma acknowledges before turning her attention back over to me. “You seem to be amassing a collection, Nicholas. Congratulations on your engagement by the way, but this does not seem to be worth a formal summons...” 

“My apprentice needs her scales re-balanced.” 

Karma looks back over to Hipp. “Is this true young one?” she asks, her head tilting to the side as she saunters over to Hipp. 

Hipp nods. “Yes, ma’am...uhhh.” Her eyes dart from Karma to me. “What do I say? Why’d I call her ‘ma’am’? BUmm, what do you call a goddess anyway?” Her eyes go wide as she looks up at Karma. “Oh no, I… I… didn’t mean to … ”

Karma sighs and gives me a disapproving look before pressing a paw pad to Hipp’s lips, silencing her. “Shhh, there is no slight; just breathe Hipperetta.” Hipp visibly calms as Karma brushes away the tears that have fallen with a gentle swipe of her thumbs.

Hipp's eyes close as Karma stands there, seemingly looking through her. Her lip curls back for just a fraction of a moment. “I will do this.” Her voice is low and filled with anger. “I will balance your scales young one. Do you accept my service?” 

Hipp nods and whispers. “Yes…”

“Nicholas,” Karma turns her head and looks at me. “I do not wish to bind her for this; do you accept the debt in her stead?” 

“What would you have me do?” 

“See how he learns, young one,” Karma says playfully. “Let that be a lesson to you; always find out what the other party wants.” She studies me for a moment. “A beast of darkness has bound itself to a place of much suffering. It’s feeding on the death that happened there. You will slay it.” 

I take a deep breath before nodding slowly. “It will be done.” 

“See that it is.” She eyes me sternly. “I expect better training than the poor example that has so far been set.” She turns her attention back to Hipp before I can say anything. Her right paw starts to glow white and she presses it against Hipp's forehead for a moment before disappearing in a flash of light. 

Hipp's nose twitches as she stands unblinking for several seconds before taking a deep breath and looking toward me. “That was….” 

I nod, understanding exactly how she feels. “Come on, let's go inside.” I wave my paw, extinguishing the flame. “How do you feel?”

“Lighter,” she replies after a moment. “Thank you.” 

We pause on the trail down from the top of the hill. I sigh. “She was right though. I did nothing to prepare you to meet her. I’ve been dealing with her for so long that I’ve forgotten how…” I pause as I search for the proper word.

“Intense?” Hipp offers. 

“Exactly, how intense she can be.” 

“In all fairness I'm not certain you could have prepared me for that.” 

“Likely not, but I should have tried.”

“And just how many apprentices have you had before me?”

“You're my first.”

She nods, studying me for a moment before turning and heading down the path. “Well as far as teachers go you're by far not the worst.”

“Well I take that as a win then.” 

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she shoots back. “But you have potential.” She hesitates for a moment. “So what am I supposed to call you anyway?” 

“Nick is fine.”

“What about Nicholas?” 

“Uhhh no.” We spend the rest of the way back to the warren discussing true names and how they can be used against you. Truly though, her questions are insightful and make me think before answering them. It's a fascinating thing to have to ponder why you do something the way you do it when you try to teach it. But somehow even with slowing down a bit we make it to the porch just before the last rays of light leave the sky.

“I have to say, you put on quite the show there Slick,” Judy says from where she’s seated on the porch as we walk up.

“Glad you enjoyed it.” I grin as I look around for Cotton. “No Cotton Ball?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

Judy shrugs. “She wanted to wait up for you, but they’re having a ‘sleepover’ with the litter that’s about her age.” She grins up at me. “Mom wanted to give us some time alone.” 

“I’ll take that as my cue,” Hipp says, walking up the porch. “I’m pretty sure I have some packing to do or something.”

I nod as Judy grabs my paw and leads me around the mound of the warren. I study her for a moment as we walk; her ears are down her back but her step is light and trouble free. 

“Dad, said he invited you to go skeet shooting,” Judy starts, breaking the silence. 

“That he did.” I shrug as we continue around the side of the mound. “I’m not sure about going though.”

“I think you should.” She glances up at me. “Look, I know it's some male chest bumping thing…” 

I chuff. “That's putting it mildly Fluff.”

“I've seen this enough with my sisters.” She shrugs. “Dad will take a group. You guys will all shoot clay pigeons and chest thump about how many you shot.” 

“Yeah well, your dad wants me to toss around fireballs.”

She pauses and nods. “He probably told you something about needing to smack something with a stick didn’t he?”

I rub the back of my neck and look away. “Yeah something like that.”

“Mom told me all about it,” she starts and sighs. “And at first it sounds stupid, but Mom also told me about Dad’s thinking.” She shrugs. “And it makes a kind of sense.” 

“Oh?” I raise an eyebrow as I look down at her.

“Yeah; Dad takes you and some of my brothers out to do something ‘uber masculine’.”

“Like shooting skeet.”

“It’s a male bonding thing that Dad does with all the new males that my sisters bring home.” She shrugs. “As silly as it sounds I think it has merit and you should go.”

“Even if it involves fireballs?” 

“As long as they’re thrown at skeet.”She shrugs. “They have a right to know and you have a right to be here without my family thinking you're crazy.” 

I grin down at her. “But maybe I am a little crazy.”

“Maybe we both are.” She smiles warmly up at me. “I love you Nick, and I just want my family to see the great guy you are.”

“Don’t get me wrong Fluff, I know just how great I can be.” My grin slowly goes smug. “But I don't think throwing fireballs is getting off on the right foot.”

“Maybe not, but I also want them to know you can defend yourself.” She grabs my paw again and pulls me in the direction of the cottage we’re staying in. “Come on, Mom is giving us an evening alone.”

Grinning, I follow along as she pulls me into the cottage. I'm taken aback as we enter; a low fire burns in the fireplace, warding off the late autumn chill. Candles in glass jars are placed here and there, helping to bathe the room in a warm welcoming light. My staff is leaned against the back of a high backed chair. Well, really it's high backed to me, as the place is outfitted for slightly larger mammals than us. But not too large to make the space uncomfortable or awkward to use. 

Judy turns as she walks backward, her eyes shining bright as she looks up at me. I pull back on my paw slightly, slowing her just enough to let me step forward and wrap the other behind her back. She tilts her head up as mine comes down. Our kiss is hesitant at first. Not necessarily awkward, but cautious; given our size and other differences, we have yet to fall into the rhythm that long time lovers share. Our intimate relationship is exciting in its newness and uniqueness. 

Later, much, much, gloriously later, we rest entwined together on the bed. Our clothes are strewn across the floor. That combined with the tangled mess of bed clothes at the foot of the bed pays testament to the fervor of our love making. 

She combs her paw through the fur of my chest. Here and there her nails catch on the web of scars hiding beneath, permanent marks from a variety of encounters during my career as a wizard. Fingers linger, tracing and mapping each in turn, just for her paw to return back to gentle, rhythmic strokes forward and back. It lulls me into a deep, content, and relaxed state of well loved bliss. 

“When do you want to get married?” she asks, breaking the silence. 

I crack open my eye and look down at her. She’s clearly content, as her nose doesn't even twitch. The low light from the candles causes her purple eyes to have a darker hue. I shift my paw to rest on her hip as I shrug slightly. 

“I dunno, haven't really given it much thought.” I smile. A part of me still thinks she'll see sense and run but I don't give voice to that opinion. “Is there a time frame your thinking of?” 

“Soon maybe,” she says, and wraps her arm over my chest, squeezing in a sort of side hug. “But not too soon.”

“Then why bring it up?” 

“Mom did.”

“Ahh.” A bit of playfulness slips into my voice. “She's already planning our wedding?”

“Heh,” she chuckles a bit. “I think she's been planning weddings for my sisters and I since the day we were born. But it got me thinking.”

“Well October is called for. I already know you're planning some Halloween themed birthday party. I don’t want our wedding to be Halloween themed as well.”

She thumps my chest playfully. “Ok then, after the new year.”

“Not February that would make our wedding cliche.” 

“You're just no fun at all are you?”

“Honestly it doesn't matter that much to me. The important things will be there.” I reply, kissing her between the ears.

“Awww.” Judy reaches up and caresses my check. “I feel the same way about you, Slick.”

“Blueberries.” 

“Aaannnd you killed it,” she dead pans as her paw falls on my chest. 

“It's just a formality anyway.”

“How can you say that? It’s important…”

“I’m not saying it’s not important.” I roll over onto my side so I can wrap both of my arms around her. “It’s just as far as I’m concerned, I’m a kept fox. Cotton already calls me Dad, and well, you make me feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”

She shifts slightly in my arms and I can feel her cheek press against my chest. “How do you do that?” 

“Do what?” 

“Say something that kills the mood then turn around and make it better?” 

I press my lips softly between her ears. “Just saying the truth.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” 

I’m not sure which of us falls asleep first. Honestly it doesn't matter. What matters is that we’re here together. I know, but as sappy as that sounds, it's important to me. I’ve spent so much time alone that I treasure just not being alone any more. And the fact that she's looking toward that future where we’re married does more to disband any doubts that I had about our relationship. 

\-----------

“You’re sure this is a good idea?” I ask, sliding my enchanted duster on after lunch the next day.

“Do I?” she asks, pausing for dramatic effect. “Yes, yes I do. Besides, you know you want to show off to the backward country bunnies just a little bit.” 

“Yeah, but I don't necessarily need my staff and duster for that.” 

“Probably not, but what better way to show off to a bunch of country bunnies?” Judy asks as she hands me my staff.

“I’m not sure what you're getting out of me showing off to your family, since you're not even going to be there to see it.” 

“I’m not?” she asks, sounding as if this is the first she heard of this.

“Well your dad didn’t invite you,” I shrug. “Besides, isn't this supposed to be a ‘male’ bonding thing?” 

“You of all mammals should know that just because I wasn't invited to participate doesn't mean I can't watch.” She grins at me as she grabs the lapels of my duster and pulls me down so our muzzles are just inches apart. “Especially if I take one of the utility ATVs and just park up on the hill behind the range.”

It takes a moment of me staring at her blankly before a sly grin crosses my face. “Sly bunny.” 

“Dumb fox,” she replies tenderly just before the distance between our muzzles disappears. 

The kiss itself starts soft, warm, and tender, but quickly builds. Much like our relationship and my feelings for her it intensifies rather quickly. Her paws move from from the lapels of my duster to the fur at the back of my neck. 

Wrapping my free paw around her, I find myself wishing that I didn't have my staff in my other. For like all things when Judy is involved, I feel the need to hold onto her with both paws. Judy shifts closer to me as a small shiver runs up her back. The want to take hold of her with both paws is only overridden by the fear of ruining the mood with the clattering of my staff on the floor.

A sudden warmth follows a burst of energy that travels down the left sleeve of my duster and engulfs my left paw. We break our kiss and both turn to see my staff go up in a flash of light heralded by the sound of rushing flame. 

I stare blankly at my paw as my heart races from a combination of the make out session with my fianc é e and my staff going up in flames. My staff that I had worked on for the greater part of my being a wizard, just gone. My heart falls with dread.

A wizard’s staff is highly individualized, no two are the same. The wood for mine came from an old growth oak tree that lost a limb on my grandfather's farm. I carved it by paw over the course of my apprenticeship. Painstakingly carved each and every rune by paw with a knife and sandpaper. 

“Nick…” Judy starts sensing my horror. “What…”

“No…” I flex my paw; no ash, no dust cloud just gone. I sit down heavily on the floor.

“What just happened?” Judy asks quietly.

“I…We” I stumble to find words as I try to make sense of what happened. 

Judy’s paws stroke back the fur on top of my head. “It’s ok Nick, just breathe and think for a moment; what happened?” 

I take a deep steadying breath and close my eyes as she finds the spot behind my right ear that she knows I like to have scratched. She is probably the only mammal in the world that can both excite and make me relax at the same time. I try to push thoughts of her out of my mind as I try to analyze what happened.

Frowning as I go over events in my head I look down at the left sleeve of my duster. It couldn't be that simple could it? I mean there’s no ash, and even when magic is involved there’s at least something left; well, unless hellfire was used, as in the case of the warehouse explosion. But this wasn't hellfire, or at least I don’t think it was. 

Standing, I start to pat the duster much like someone who’s searching their pockets for lost keys. My paws run over it first on the inside then on the outside. 

“Did you think of something?” 

“Yeah Fluff, as silly as it sounds I think my duster ate my staff.” I shake my left arm still in the sleeve of the duster. “Ok give it back.” I punctuate each word with a shake of my arm.

“Kinda like when my brother's pet frog ate his homework?” 

Snapping the fingers of my left paw I had meant to point at her. But instead my eyes widen in shock as my staff reappears in a flash of flame. “Uhhh, not exactly.”

“Whoa…” Judy says as she steps back from me a bit. 

I turn my staff over in my paws, looking it over carefully. Each rune is exactly where it's supposed to be, each scratch, scrape, and dent exactly how I remember them. I pour just a bit of my power into my staff as the runes each light up with the power contained in it. 

I sigh in relief; next to blasting a hole in the wall it's the closest I'll get to making sure it still works. 

“So, what, did it hold your staff for you?” Judy asks. 

“I guess?” I answer, studying my staff for a moment longer before letting it go only to catch it just before it falls to the floor. My brow furrows as I try to remember how I got the duster to take my staff the first time.


	15. Chapter 14

# Chapter 14

The old hinges of the truck door squeal in protest as it both opens and closes. Stu nods to me as he walks past the front of the truck carrying his shotgun, the butt stock of it up under his right armpit with the long barrel resting on his forearm. 

The range is located in a dell between two hills just overlooking a rather large pond. Well-manicured grass stretches from where the pick up trucks were parked to the edge of the pond. I lean against the truck as four rabbits unload a complicated looking machine mounted to a heavy piece of steel plate. They sit it down maybe about 50 feet from the pond.

“Now I know there’s some fancy game played with this, but for us this is still mostly about target practice.” Stu says, sitting down a couple of boxes of shells on the hood of the pick up. “While rare these days, hawks are still a concern in these parts.”

My ears perk up at the sound of several engines in the distance; Stu looks behind me and just shakes his head. Turning, I see several side by side and other farm utility vehicles pull to a stop on the hill behind us. Two of the rabbits I recognize instantly, even from this distance, as Judy and Cotton getting out of a bright green UTV. A third rabbit getting out of the vehicle is only recognizable to me by her bright blue ears as Hipp. The rest of the rabbits all spread out blankets or lawn chairs to relax in and watch. 

“Looks like ole Jude dinnt come out alone.” Stu just shakes his head.

“You don’t sound overly surprised.”

“Can't say that I am.” He shrugs. “Happens almost every time.” 

“Is that so?” I cock an eyebrow up and look down at him.

“Yup, bet the betting pool looks mighty good.” 

“What are they betting on?” I glance down to see a deadpan look on Stu’s face as he just shakes his head. 

“Right, mostly about target practice,” I deadpan as I turn back to watching two rabbits carry over a large battery to hook up to the machine. 

“Here,” Stu says as he hands me a set of foam ear plugs. “Yer gonna want these.”

Looking down at the little plastic bag with foam ear plugs in it I use the tip of a claw to slice it open. Then I watch as Stu rolls the foam between his thumb and forefinger before stuffing them into his ear canals. Following his lead I do the same. 

Stu then buckles a pouch around his waist and dumps a box of shotgun shells into it. Picking up his shotgun, he thumbs a release that causes the barrel to flip down to let him load two shells into it. 

“Ok boys let me show you how it's done,” Stu says as he walks up to the right side of the throwing machine. I lean against the front of the truck and settle in to watch. 

“Now Cleater you know the drill; you keep this thing throwing until I miss.” 

“You got it Pa,” Cleatus responds, pressing his foot down onto a step trigger. I can hear the high pitched whine of an electric motor spinning up to speed just before a loud thunk and a clay disk is thrown toward the pond. I watch in awe over the next several minutes as Stu’s paws take on a magic of their own. It’s magic of well practiced and precise movements as his shotgun blasts clay disk after clay disk, as he somehow manages to get the double barreled shotgun reloaded after every second disk he destroys. It's simply a ballet of experience and practice that’s a wonder to behold. 

“I’m out,” Stu says as his paw comes up empty from the pouch. 

“Wow Pa, you didn’t miss a one!” Cleatus cheers excitedly as his other sons look on with what I can only assume is as much awe as I feel. 

“Yeah, but I only winged the last few.” Stu says humbly. “Would’ve preferred clean breaks.” 

“Still woulda killed a hawk.” 

“True,” Stu says with a grin. “Cleater, I guess you’re next.”

“But whata about da fox?” Cleatus asks, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at me. 

“He goes last.”

“So what, he's younger than Jaxy?” 

“Hey!” Jaxon shouts. 

“No,” Stu says, glancing at me for confirmation and I just give a nod. “No he's not, but I set the order and he goes last.”

“Fine,” Cleatus says in a tone that let it be clear it was anything but fine. “Bet the stupid...ple-, errr fox doesn't even know how to use a shotgun.” 

Stu shakes his head sadly as he walks back over to the truck and stands beside me. “Sorry about that.” 

“I’m used to it,” I answer, shrugging.

“Yeah well, you shouldn't be.”

I snort in surprise. “Now you sound like Carr… I mean Judy.”

“You’ve called her Carrots a couple of times,”Stu remarks as Cleatus comes back onto the field with a pump action shotgun in paw. “Is there a story behind that?”

“Insult that turned into a term of endearment,” I explain as Cleatus takes up position. 

“Pull!” Cleatus yells, and the whirling of the electric motor starts once again. Cleatus’s shooting is a stark contrast to his fathers. Whereas Stu was a perfect balance of skill and precision, Cleatus makes up for it in brute force. His shots are every bit as accurate as his father’s, but he starts to stumble after his 12th shot. Mostly his paw kept going toward his belt and trying to find shells, whereas Stu’s paw seemed to know exactly where the next pair was at. 

“Dang it!” Cleatus yells as one of the clay disks plonks into the pond before he could bring his weapon to bear once again.

“You need to practice loading more Cleater,” Stu calls to his son as he shakes his head beside me. “Your aim is about right though.”

“He always did rely more on that fancy pump action,” Stu adds quietly beside me. “But he’s a decent shot; the other two aren’t nearly as good, so you need to ready yourself son.”

I nod, but don’t move from the front of the truck. Sighing, I stuff my paws into the pockets of my duster. “Just how much of a wallop do you want me to give these skeet?” 

“Enough that it does her proud,” Stu answers, pointing his thumb back over his shoulder at the onlooking rabbits up the hill. 

I chance a glance back at the gathered spectators only to see Cotton waving madly at me. I lift my right paw and wave back a bit, I’m pretty sure she tries to yell something but it’s drowned out by shotgun blasts. I study the gathered rabbits for a moment before turning back. Frowning, I think it over. Judy was right; I do sort of like the opportunity to show off. My grandfather would hate this little display, but a part of me is looking forward to it. I do wonder what she’s getting out of me coming out here though. 

“It’s your turn son,” Stu says, gently pulling me from my thoughts. 

“Heh,” Cleatus huffs. “Daft fox would be the only one to space out while there’s shootin’ going on. Jaxy, why don’t you let em borra your shotgun.” 

Jaxon looks at me skeptically as he starts to walk over to me with his shotgun in paw.

Holding up my paw I stop him as I sigh and start to head to where they all took their shots. “No thanks.” I walk past him, shaking free the shield bracelet around my right paw. 

“Dumb fox; unless he has a shotgun in that coat how else is he gonna shoot skeet?” 

I grin as I imagine my staff in my left paw. I pull my paw out and snap my fingers. My staff appears in a flash of flame as I step up to the left of the machine. I eye it warily before taking a few more steps to the left to create some more distance. Only then do I loosen the tight reins I’ve been keeping on my magic. 

I look at the brown furred rabbit operating the skeet thrower. He just gapes at me in stunned silence and I grin at him. “Pull.” 

“Uhhh, P… Pa?” the rabbit asks. 

“You heard him Adam,” Stu says firmly. “Pull.”

My right paw snaps open, the fireball already starting to form as the whirling sound of the machine spins up. 

THUNK! The machine spits out one of the clay pigeons into an arc toward the pond. 

“Fuego!” I shout as I fling the fireball into a perfect intercept course. It’s stronger than it really needs to be to deal with the target, but if I’m going to deliver a walloping… The fireball arcs through the air, striking the clay pigeon and causing it to explode into a shower of steaming hot shards that fall into the pond. 

THUNK! The machine spits out another pigeon and I fling another fireball. And on it goes as I fall into a dance of flame, flinging fireballs at the targets as fast as the machine can spit them out. It’s exhilarating to use my magic in such a way to fall into the rhythm of the machine. Each target’s arc is just slightly different so that no two clay pigeons follow the same path. 

CHA KRAK. The sudden ratcheting of a shotgun causes me to spin, the next target forgotten.  
“RIFLETTUM!” The shield slams into place even before the full command is out of my muzzle.

BLAM! The ringing echo of a shotgun blast is followed by several thumps as the shot is stopped by my shield. The skeet machine gives a whirling dying pop, followed closely by Adam’s phone as he yells in surprise.  
I breathe heavily as I eye the pellets floating in my shield. My gaze goes from them to the mullet haired rabbit still holding a smoking shaking shotgun. The air reeks of ozone from the melted electronics. My heart pounds in my chest as I look from Cleatus to Stu and then Jaxon, who could only gape. 

The metallic sound of the shotgun being racked to eject the spent shell casing turns my attention back to Cleatus. At the same time a thunk and the squeaking of the rear springs of the truck that Cleatus is standing in front of can be heard as he racks another round. Cleatus starts to turn as Judy vaults over the top of the truck’s cab. The barrel of the shotgun sweeps towards Jaxon.

The shot pellets rain down as I drop my shield only to thrust out my paw toward Jaxon. “RIFLETTUM!” I shout snapping a new shield over Judy’s litter mate, the abrupt expenditure of energy causes his cellphone to pop instantly as Judy bunfu kicks Cleatus in the side. The sudden impact causes Cleatus’s finger to jerk on the trigger and the shotgun to go off, pelting both the shield I’d put over Jaxon and the side of Stu’s truck with pellets. The front passenger side tire pops as the gun goes skirting across the lawn and Judy and Cleatus tumble in a mess of flailing limbs and grunts. 

The pair of them brawl for a moment, each trying to get an upper hand on other. Cleatus swings wildly in an attempt to land a solid blow on Judy but fails miserably as Judy’s training takes over. Judy attempts to grab a hold of one of his paws but fails as he rolls, scrambling; the fight moves away from the truck. Having failed to get control of Cleatus’s paws she instead knees him hard in the groin. He lets out a high pitched squeal and I wince in sympathy as Judy’s knee connects and his paws move to attempt to protect his malehood, all fight having left him. 

Judy rolls him over onto his stomach and forces his paws up behind his back while he groans on the grass. 

She looks up, breathing heavily as she looks around at the rest of us. “Is everyone ok?” she asks, breaking the spell that seems to have come over everyone while I drop the shield over Jaxon. “Nick? Dad? Jax? Adam?” she asks us each in turn. 

“I’m ok Fluff,” I answer, looking to the rest who just nod.

“Cleatus you gods-be-damned idiot!” Stu yells. 

“Dad I need you to calm down for just a moment,” Judy says in a stern voice. “Does anyone have anything I can secure this jackalope with?” 

“Calm down?” Stu asks. “He just tried to kill Nick! He damn near killed Jaxy, and you want me to calm down?”

“LET ME GO!” Cleatus yells as he struggles a bit more. “I WAS DOIN YOU A FAVOR! IT’S LIKE POP POP USED TO SAY, HE’S RED BECAUSE HE’S OF THE DEVIL!”

Judy wrenches on Mullet’s arms harder, causing him to whimper but not stop yelling. “HE WIELDS FIRE BECAUSE HE’S OF THE DEVIL!”

“Uhhh, yeah Judes, I have some rope in the back of my truck just give me a moment,” Adam says speaking up for the first time. 

“Thanks Adam; we only have to hold him long enough for the sheriff to get here.” That seems to put a little more fight back into Cleatus as he struggles just a bit more. It’s not long after that Judy gets his paws secured behind his back; all the while the mullet haired rabbit screams either straight profanities or more about how I'm either “in cahoots with the devil” or the devil himself. It's honestly a little hard to understand him after a while and I somewhat expect him to start foaming at the mouth. He persists even when the old bobcat sheriff loads him into the back of his four wheel drive SUV. I can’t help but feel a tad responsible though. Perhaps I walloped those skeet a little too hard, or maybe something in him was always broken and I just pushed him over the edge. Regardless of the reason I cannot help but feel responsible. 

The rest of the afternoon passes quietly, watching the kits play and making some bubbles for my newly formed fan club to play with. Honestly, watching Cotton and the other kits play lifts my spirits more than a little bit, which is probably the reason Judy suggested it almost as soon as we made it back to the farm. Say what you will about bunnies; they are observant. I am thankful that none of the Hopps family treats me any differently; well, other than maybe a few who look at me with a bit more respect. It might actually be fear, but I’d like to hope that it's respect. Maybe Carrots’ overly hopeful optimism is rubbing off on me. 

“You're sure you have to go?” Stu asks as we stand upon Judy’s Hill, the last dying rays of daylight just warming the horizon.

“We’d love it if you would stay a bit longer.” Bonnie says, standing beside Stu. Only the two of them joined us on top of the hill for farewells. Hipp stands off to the side of Judy and I and I once again have a sleeping Cotton cradled in my arm as I lean against my staff. She wasn’t overly happy about having to go to bed so early, but a promise of ice cream after school tomorrow soothed it over. I’m honestly grateful none of the rest of the Hopps clan joins us; I’ve already shattered one rabbit’s reality for the day and that is one too many for my liking. 

“No Mom; I was only able to get us a couple of days off and we’re lucky that it was over the weekend anyway,” Judy answers. 

“We understand Jude,” Stu says as he wraps Judy up in a hug. “We just wish you could stay longer.” 

“I wish we could too,” Judy says softly as she returns her father's hug.

“Do you think you could come for Christmas?” Bonnie asks as she wraps Judy up in a hug as soon as her father lets her go.

“We’d love to come for Christmas,” I cut in, causing Judy to look back at me in surprise. “It's been a long time,” if ever, “since I’ve had a family Christmas. So provided Judy and I can get the time off we would love to come.”

“I'm sure the Chief will give us at least a couple of days off for the holiday,” Judy says with a smile on her face. “And if Nick is willing to spend our first Christmas here then it sounds great to me.”

I can’t help but smile warmly at the thought of being with family for Christmas. Most holidays have just been another day for me for so long that I'm not sure how they’re supposed to go. The little bit I do know about holidays is from my father and watching Christmas specials on TV.

Bonnie and Stu look at each other briefly and smile. “Jude, would you take Cotton for a moment? We’d like to talk to Nick about this afternoon.” She pauses, then looks between Carrots and I as my ears lay flat against my skull. “Alone.”

“Uhh, sure Mom,.” Judy says as she takes Cotton from my arms while I swallow nervously.

“Come along,” Bonnie says in a voice that didn't leave any room for interpretation. I follow the pair of elder Hopps down the hill a ways until we’re what I'm assuming is out of ear shot for rabbits. They stop and look up at me. 

“We would like to apologize for this afternoon,” Bonnie starts. 

“Yeah son, I should have never put you in the position that I did,” Stu takes up. “I didn’t realize that ole Cleater would come off his rockers the way he did.” 

I look at them in shock for a moment. “I probably shouldn’t have used fireballs.”

“Nonsense; I told ya to give em a wallop and ya did,” Stu says, hooking his thumbs into the shoulder straps of his overalls. “It was a mighty good walloping at that.”

“We just hope that you don’t bear us or Cleatus any ill will,” Bonnie says, looking back up the hill to where my travel companions stand waiting. “We just got Jude back into our lives and…”

“I bear neither of you any ill will and meant what I said about coming for Christmas.” I take a deep breath and try to soften my features as much as I can. “As for Cleatus…” I shrug. “If he can get a handle on his world view then I believe I can put it behind me as well.” 

“Good,” Stu says firmly. “And if you two want to elope Bonnie and I won't mind a bit.” 

“STU!” Bonnie exclaims in exasperation. 

“What?” Stu asks. “It’s the truth. ”

Bonnie looks up at me thoughtfully. “You two just go at your own pace; I’m sure that it'll all work out in the end.” 

“I’m sure it will.” I answer, looking up the hill at Judy thoughtfully. “We’re discussing a time frame but nothing is set in stone yet.”

“Good,” Bonnie says, drawing my attention back toward her. “Now you get going; we know you have a long journey ahead of you.”

Nodding we walk back up the hill. The rabbits all do one more round of hugs before saying their farewells and we end up watching Bonnie and Stu walk down the hill a ways. 

“Well Grasshopper, ready for your first trip into the NeverNever?” I ask, turning my attention to Hipp, who looks up at me surprised. 

“Grasshopper?” She frowns at me. 

“You know, like the old Karate Kit movies?” I ask. 

“Gah, you’re old.” She shakes her head as Judy laughs. “But yes I’m ready.”

“Whats the rule in dealing with the sidhe?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. 

“Don’t take anything.,” she answers.

Snapping the fingers of my left paw, I envision my staff in it and grin as it appears. 

“Show off,” Judy says beside me. 

“Oh you know you love me.” Gathering the magic around us I release it, opening a gateway between realities. 

“Do I know that?” she asks, stepping in front of the gateway. “Yes, yes I do,” she answers as she steps through. Hipp follows her through and I take a moment to look over the idyllic landscape before turning and walking through the portal. The journey back to the city is much the same as the journey to the farm, except Judy doesn't have to lead us anywhere, as I know my way home quite well. I briefly considered stopping at my grandfather's farm, but in the end we don't. I know exactly how he would react if I show up on his doorstep with a trio of rabbits in tow. My grandfather always viewed family as a burden, a sentiment that I definitely do not share.

“Whoa…” Hipp intones as we step out of the portal and into the darkened expanse of the park. Street lights along the various pathways illuminate and show puddles of bright green here and there. And above us the sky is a pool of inky darkness due to all the light pollution. I sigh slightly as we turn and start walking along the pathway that will lead us home. 

“Did we really just cover all that distance by walking?” Hipp asks excitedly. “I mean, I know you said time and distance were different in the NeverNever but I didn't think it would be that different, ya know?” 

“Oh, I know what you mean.” I grin down at her as we walk along the darkened path. “I think it took me three days to make it from Podunk to the city the first time I made the trip.”

“Why did it take that long?”

“I didn’t have a connection to the city, no knowledge of it other than the vaguest of ideas of what direction it was in.” I grin as I recall the memories of that trip. The trip itself was exciting, even if I was leaving because of a fight with my grandfather. “I came out a couple of hours outside of the city limits and ended up walking the rest of the way.”

“How did you find your apartment?” Judy asks, looking up at me. 

“Karma.” Nothing more really needs to be said after that. The conversation dies off as we walk the few blocks to the apartment building. 

“Uhhh, guys?” Hipp’s nose wrinkles up as we turn into the alleyway. “It looks like the entrance is over there.” She points to the main entrance of the building.

“Nick’s apartment has its own entrance.” Judy pauses as we near the entrance to it. “Do you think it’s safe to keep Cotton asleep throughout the night?” 

“Yeah, it’s probably best for her if she's had almost a full night's rest.” 

“Mom said she had energy for days after our first trip through the NeverNever.” Judy nods and looks up at me. “Can you take her and get her in bed while I help Hipp get settled?”

“Sure.” I take Cotton from her and cradle her in my arms. “Do you need my key or do you have yours?” 

“No, I have mine,” Judy says as she pulls her paw out of her pocket, key in hand, and unlocks the door. She pushes the door open and holds it as I follow her down the few steps that lead into my hovel. Snapping the fingers of my right paw, the fireplace and all the candles ignite and cast the place in a soft warm gloom. 

I can't help the smile that comes to my face as I cross the living area. The fantastic memories that we’ve made in the place makes it feels even more like home to me. I’ll miss it, but a part of me is looking forward to moving into the new place with Judy and Cotton. And, well, now Hipp too I guess. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I have an apprentice as well as a family. 

I hear a sharp intake of breath behind me as I step up onto the stool beside the dresser that serves as our bed. I spare a moment to glace back at Hipp as she steps into the room. 

“You live _here_?” she asks. I'm not sure if it’s disbelief or something else in her voice. “I thought wizards lived in towers.” 

“In the city?” Judy asks, and I chuff. “Not at these real estate prices. The new place is nicer. We should be able to move in next weekend.” 

“Besides, not everyone has the benefit of a farming dynasty,” I add as I lay Cotton down on the mattress and cover her up with her small blanket and tuck her stuffie in under her arm. 

“It may not look like much, but it's warm and safe.” Judy glances at me before looking back at her sister, whose blue tinted ears have fallen down her back. “Besides, Mom and Dad taught us not to look down on how others live.”

“For others might be poor in one regard but rich in others.” Hipp nods slowly. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to judge.” 

“You’re forgiven,” I tell her as I slide my duster off. Which promptly floats across the room to hang itself on the coat rack beside the door. “Now let's get you acquainted with the couch on which you're going to surf for a bit.” 

It honestly doesn't take long to familiarize Hipp with my hovel. I mean, it's one big room with an attached bathroom. And yeah I know that's not counting my lab, but honestly it's late and I don't feel up to the teasing that I'm sure is going to come from Skull Ben upon introductions. Besides, morning is going to come all too soon and I’ve expended a ton of magical energy throughout the day. 

Thankfully the day ends the way that I prefer it to, wrapped around my bunny. I don't care if her heart beats too fast or if her tail is too short. She wraps me up in something far more important: her heart, her love and her trust. 

“I love you.” Her voice is relaxed but sleepy.

“I love you too.”


	16. Epilogue

# Epilogue

That's how I got an apprentice. 

What, you want to know about what happened with Bogo? Ask me next time we meet; all  I can say at the moment is  that  I'm not sure who hustled me more,  him or Judy. Maybe it was a combined hustling. 

The thing that Karma wants me to kill? Yeah I’m still looking into that, and no I won't tell you about it yet. Let me kill it first; last thing I need is for any of your readers to go and get killed by it.

None of the Coins have turned up yet, and I honestly pray to whatever deity that will listen that they don't. I mean, it’s not like I have room on my plate for  anything else . I have Judy and Cotton,  both of whom I deeply enjoy spending time with, and I have Hipp to train now. All on top of finding an Other and dealing with some dark thing that has taken up residence in the NeverNever. 

Anyway, I have to get going and meet with Judy at a furniture store down the street. I have a feeling that I’m already running behind as  it  is; never will be able to tell that  bunny no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys this one is kinda bitter sweet for me. Over the last two years I have produced close to a half a million words of content for you guys and during this time I have had a lot of family events that have happened. I should have taken breaks but I didn't and I'm kind of paying for that now. I need a chance to breath creatively. This doesn't mean I'm leaving the fandom far from it. It means that for the rest of 2020 I'm taking a break well kinda. You guys will still get stories from me as I want to finish some of the many Side Hustles that I have that will flesh out the story so far and I want to to write the entirety of High Stakes (Wilde Files #4) before I start publishing it. Just I will not be publishing every two weeks again until 1 Jan 2021.


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